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
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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...
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Drone program manager at Island Conservation - https://www.islandconservation.org/drone-program-coordinator/ Senior Specialist, Flight... |
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Drones | 2 years 9 months ago | |
Hi Egil, The group I'm involved with works with remote communities in/around North and South Luangwa National Parks and there is some expansion happening to community areas... |
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Drones | 3 years 3 months ago | |
Here is a very interesting conference with different tech approaches about Automated Forest Restoration where we collaborated with our... |
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Drones | 3 years 3 months ago | |
Hi! Interesting subject indeed. In most cases where UAVs are used in nature "documentaries" it is pretty obvious to a behavioural biologist that the animals... |
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Drones | 3 years 3 months ago | |
Hi Wildlabbers, This week is the last episode of Tech Tutors Season 2! Elizabeth Bondi tackled the question "How do I... |
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AI for Conservation, Drones | 3 years 3 months ago | |
Hello Aurelie, Thank you for sharing this info. I just downloaded the brochure and I am sure I will find it very useful. I have senseFly's eBee Classic, with RGB,... |
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Drones | 3 years 4 months ago | |
Hi Wildlabbers, Tech Tutors Season 2 continues with our fifth episode, featuring Shashank Srinivasan who will tackle the question... |
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Drones | 3 years 4 months ago | |
The UFO project is an H2020 programme dedicated to supporting the development of innovative products and services by integrating ... |
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Drones | 3 years 4 months ago | |
Hi Isla, That's something that the drone world really needs to take on because there can be a world of difference in drone size, prop types and motor types to reduce impact... |
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Drones | 3 years 5 months ago | |
Hello Shashank, I found your post very interesting - congratulations on looking at the ethical side of this technology! One of the reasons that our organisation,... |
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Drones | 3 years 7 months ago | |
Very cool, thanks for sharing, Adrian! We'll put this up on Twitter as well. |
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Drones | 3 years 7 months ago | |
Hi all, Firstly, I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone who attended my Tech Tutors presentation last month. And secondly, thank you for your patience in allowing... |
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Biologging, Drones | 3 years 8 months ago |