Behaviour Reactions of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to Multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

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aut.relation.issue1en_NZ
aut.relation.journalScientific Reportsen_NZ
aut.relation.volume9en_NZ
aut.researcherDrabsch, Julie
dc.contributor.authorFettermann, Ten_NZ
dc.contributor.authorFiori, Len_NZ
dc.contributor.authorBader, Men_NZ
dc.contributor.authorDoshi, Aen_NZ
dc.contributor.authorBreen, Den_NZ
dc.contributor.authorStockin, KAen_NZ
dc.contributor.authorBollard, Ben_NZ
dc.date.accessioned2019-08-20T02:37:11Z
dc.date.available2019-08-20T02:37:11Z
dc.date.copyright2019en_NZ
dc.date.issued2019en_NZ
dc.description.abstractUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) represent a novel and cost effective research tool to investigate cetacean behaviour, as conventional aircraft are expensive, limited in the altitude they can fly at and potentially disturb sensitive wildlife. In addition, the aerial observation from the UAVs allows assessment of cetacean behaviour from an advantageous perspective and can collect high spatial and temporal resolution data, providing the opportunity to gather accurate data about group size, age class and subsurface behaviour. However, concerns have been raised about the potential risks of disturbance to animals caused by the UAV’s visual and acoustic stimuli. Boat-based surveys were conducted to assess the short-term behavioural responses of resting bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to a lightweight Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV flown at 10, 25, and 40 m altitude. Changes in group swim direction and frequencies of surface and aerial behavioural events were recorded from an anchored research vessel before (control) and during the aerial survey. The number of reorientation and tail slap events increased significantly between controls and flights when the UAV was flown at 10 m over the animals. In contrast, no significant differences were detected when the aircraft was flown at 25 and 40 m altitude. However, a precautionary approach is recommended for research applications requiring lower flight altitudes, with further research recommended to assess how different cetacean species and age class may respond to the UAV presence.en_NZ
dc.identifier.citationScientific Reports, 9(1), 8558.
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/s41598-019-44976-9en_NZ
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322en_NZ
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/12747
dc.publisherNature Publishing Groupen_NZ
dc.relation.urihttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44976-9
dc.rights© 2019, The Author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccessen_NZ
dc.subjectAnimal behaviour; Behavioural ecology
dc.titleBehaviour Reactions of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to Multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)en_NZ
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id360061
pubs.organisational-data/AUT
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Health & Environmental Science
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Health & Environmental Science/Applied Science
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Health & Environmental Science/School of Science
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/PBRF
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/PBRF/PBRF Health and Environmental Sciences
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/PBRF/PBRF Health and Environmental Sciences/HA Science 2018 PBRF
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