In recent years, drone technologies have been explored for a range of applications in conservation including (but not limited to) mapping, biodiversity inventories, antipoaching patrols, wildlife tracking, and fire monitoring. The rise of customizable, open-source drones like those of ArduPilot and OpenROV hold promise for more effective conservation applications, and combined with other monitoring sensors and devices, they are capable of collecting high-resolution data quickly, noninvasively, and at relatively low cost.
However, challenges remain in putting these tools to use. A recent paper reviewing 256 conservation drone projects highlighted some of these major obstacles, ranging from unintended social and ecological consequences of drone operations to still prohibitive costs, both in terms of hardware and in terms of storing and processing large volumes of data. The longstanding challenge of power/battery life remains as well.
If you're considering trying out drones for yourself, and want to explore the possibilities and understand the major conversations happening around this technology, check out these beginner's resources and conversations from across the WILDLABS platform:
Three Resources for Beginners:
- Conservation Technology User Guidelines Issue 5: Drones, World Wildlife Fund | Drones, best practices, ethics, regulations, case studies
- WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Recording: Drones, Craig Elder, Dr. Claire Burke, and Gabriel Levin | Drones, thermal camera, wildlife crime, ML, biologging
- New Paper: Drones and Bornean Orangutan Distribution, Sol Milne | Drones, data analysis, citizen science, community science, primates
Three Forum Threads for Beginners:
- Curious about radio-tracking with drones? | Wildlife Drones, Biologging (5 replies)
- Drones for GIS Best practice Document | Adrian Hughes, Drones (10 replies)
- WWF Conservation Technology Series: Drones in Conservation | Aurélie Shapiro, Drones (7 replies)
Three Tutorials for Beginners:
- How do I use a drone to capture radio-tracking data? | Debbie Saunders, Tech Tutors
- How do I choose the right drone for my conservation goals? | Shashank Srinivasan, Tech Tutors
- How do I strategically allocate drones for conservation? | Elizabeth Bondi, Tech Tutors
Want to know more about using drones, and learn from experts in the WILDLABS community? Make sure you join the conversation in our Drones group!
*Header photo: Parker Levinson, Point Blue Conservation Science
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 10 Groups
- 1 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 13 Groups
- @beccadobrien
- | she/her
Undergraduate student studying mechanical engineering and environmental science at Lehigh University.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 4 Groups
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
- 1 Resources
- 18 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- @ghirrien
- | Gael
Seasoned Product manager & digital entreprise architect
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 1 Groups
Drone Operator and Tech Developer
- 0 Resources
- 33 Discussions
- 9 Groups
An environmentalist and biologist who has been working to inspire and prepare the next generation of conservationists through an inclusive and engaging learning environment.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 8 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 1 Discussions
- 3 Groups
Conservationist currently working as UAS Remote Pilot & with ecoacoustics
- 0 Resources
- 5 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- @magali
- | she/her
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Postdoctoral researcher at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 16 Groups
Faculty Manager for Higher Education. Lecturer in Animal Behaviour, Animal Welfare and Wildlife Conservation
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 11 Groups
Tech for Conservation
- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 13 Groups
Fauna & Flora International is seeking a qualified candidate for the position of a Technical Specialist, Analytics to support and grow the use of spatial technologies and analyses for conservation planning and...
21 March 2022
In their three-part interview from our new series Technical Difficulties, Colby Loucks and Eric Becker share the failures they've encountered and learned from throughout six years of working on the WWF-US Wildlife Crime...
20 October 2021
In their three-part interview from our new series Technical Difficulties, Colby Loucks and Eric Becker share the failures they've encountered and learned from throughout six years of working on the WWF-US Wildlife Crime...
13 October 2021
ZSL's Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation journal has released new research for early view before inclusion in an issue. See the full list of recent open access research papers on RSEC.
22 April 2021
National Geographic is offering funding up to up to $50,000 for conservationists conducting research on how the pandemic has impacted wildlife and conservation work. If you are interested in researching aspects of the...
10 March 2021
How can drones and ATVs protect black-footed ferrets from the plague? In this case study from WWF's Northern Great Plains Program, Black-footed Ferret Restoration Manager Kristy Bly discusses how delivering vaccines to...
17 February 2021
Sol Milne's new paper, Drivers of Bornean Orangutan Distribution across a Multiple-Use Tropical Landscape, is now available. Using drones to detect orangutan nest density in aerial surveys (as shared during our...
12 February 2021
A research mission to determine the impact of the giant A-68a iceberg on one of the world’s most important ecosystems using underwater robotic gliders gets underway this January. A team of scientists, led by British...
13 January 2021
The latest issue of WWF's Conservation Technology Series is about drones and is designed for a broad audience of conservationists. Containing ten case studies, scientific literature, and handy information on getting...
18 November 2020
As drone usage continues to grow within the conservation tech community, driven by improved performance, increased accessibility, and the wide range of data collection methods that can be served by drones, so do the...
19 October 2020
The miniaturisation of technology is rapidly opening up new possibilities for conservationists and environmental scientists in need of less invasive, easy to deploy solutions. University of Washington researchers have...
13 October 2020
Today, Sustainable Fishing Challenges group leader Daniel Steadman discusses how fishing gear itself could benefit from fresh technological innovations to prevent both environmental damage and damage to species and...
19 August 2020
February 2023
event
29 Products
Recently updated products
Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hi, I would like to share this article with good social reflections about drones and mapping: https://forestcompass.org/drones-pros-... |
|
Drones | 6 years 5 months ago | |
Excellent - started reading this yesterday. This is a very timely and pertinent paper. Thanks for sharing. |
|
Drones | 6 years 9 months ago | |
Hi Mazidi, all the systems that I recommended are separate systems with their own GPS, not connected to the drone. Just the last one was the only finished product. Good luck... |
|
Drones | 6 years 9 months ago | |
The European Space Agency have an exciting funding opportunity coming up and got in touch with us to ask that we share it with you,... |
|
Drones | 6 years 11 months ago | |
For those who couldn't make it to the webinar, there's a recording at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0smOWFNRzuoLXpPSWREUnE2YzA/view. What do people think? Is this the... |
|
Drones | 6 years 11 months ago | |
People in this thread might be interested in this special issue of remote sensing in ecology and conservation, looking for papers on "New Approaches to Citizen Science... |
+22
|
Drones | 6 years 11 months ago | |
Cool! Thanks @Tomas Starnes. Meanwhile, http://precisionmapper.com/ has adopted the freemium model, so the first 60 maps by year are free, It's not open source but... |
|
Drones | 6 years 11 months ago | |
Hey @ahughes_rspb , thanks for starting this thread! It would be really useful to share experience on GCPs in particular. We're about to start experimenting by... |
|
Drones | 7 years ago | |
Hi Marcelo, To improve autonomy, you'll either need less weight on your drone, better batteries, or what about a fixed wing aircraft? Look at the parrot disco - it... |
|
Drones | 7 years 1 month ago | |
This is really fascinating! This could also be potentially useful as a way to distribute vaccines for wildlife and livestock! |
|
Drones | 7 years 1 month ago | |
Thanks for sharing, @Lot Adding a little more info in case anyone was interested but didn't click through - also, earlybird tickets are still available.... |
|
Drones | 7 years 2 months ago | |
Hi @twhitten The British Model Flying Association provide a specialist insurance for drone operators who are not using them as a hobby nor for commercial purposes ("... |
|
Drones | 7 years 3 months ago |