An experimental approach to exploring the feasibility of unmanned aerial vehicle and thermal imaging in terrestrial and arboreal mammals research

Abstract

The visual camouflage of many species living in the dense cover of the tropical rainforest become obstacles to conducting species monitoring. Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) combined with thermal infrared imaging (TIR) can rapidly scan large areas from above and detect wildlife that has a body temperature that contrasts with its surrounding environment. This research tested the feasibility of DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual with FLIR as aerial survey platforms to detect terrestrial and arboreal mammals in the five tree density classes in the remaining natural environment on the IPB University campus. This study demonstrated that large-size terrestrial mammal thermal signatures are visible in sparse vegetation at daytime and in the area under the canopy at night monitoring. In contrast, arboreal mammals were better detected in at early morning and night. Survey timing highly influenced the results – the best quality thermal images were obtained at sunrise, late evening, and at night. The drones allow safe operation at low altitudes with low levels of disturbance to animals. Both terrestrial and arboreal mammals are well detected and easily identified when the drone is flying at an altitude < 50 m HAGL. Our preliminary results indicated that thermal surveys from drones are a promising method.