Undertaking wildlife surveys with unmanned aerial vehicles in rugged mountains with dense vegetation: A tentative model using Sichuan Snub-nosed monkeys in China
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have broad applications. However, their use for wildlife surveys in rugged mountains with dense vegetation is uncommon. Therefore, developing appropriately designed methods, selecting suitable facilities, establishing effective monitoring processes, and managing datab...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423003207 |
| _version_ | 1797653467183972352 |
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| author | Gang He Xiaodong Yan Xiao Zhang Ming Guo Jie Wang Qiangxin Wei Yibo Shen Chengliang Wang Yinghu Lei Xuelin Jin Xiduo Hou Gaigai Guo Yu Lu Wenya Zhao Yimin Feng Hao Pan Hexian Zhang Huan Zou Weifeng Wang Ruliang Pan Songtao Guo Baoguo Li |
| author_facet | Gang He Xiaodong Yan Xiao Zhang Ming Guo Jie Wang Qiangxin Wei Yibo Shen Chengliang Wang Yinghu Lei Xuelin Jin Xiduo Hou Gaigai Guo Yu Lu Wenya Zhao Yimin Feng Hao Pan Hexian Zhang Huan Zou Weifeng Wang Ruliang Pan Songtao Guo Baoguo Li |
| author_sort | Gang He |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have broad applications. However, their use for wildlife surveys in rugged mountains with dense vegetation is uncommon. Therefore, developing appropriately designed methods, selecting suitable facilities, establishing effective monitoring processes, and managing databases that align with a region’s distinctive geographic landscapes, environments, ecology, and habitats are essential. This study focuses on the Giant Panda National Park in China’s densely vegetated Qinling Mountains to carry out surveys using UAVs to assess the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey population size (Rhinopithecus roxellana) over an area of 30,000 ha. The results indicate that eight distinct groups were identified, totaling 648–755 individuals. Thus, this study offers proof-of-principle for using UAVs for surveying wildlife in remote mountainous regions with complex landscapes and dense vegetation and demonstrates how UAVs can be used in animal monitoring and conservation. Furthermore, the study highlights the broader potential application of UAVs in other remote mountainous regions, where animal demographic information is urgently needed to establish database-driven conservation strategies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:45:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-22cc77226e724563813ed750ac42813e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:45:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-22cc77226e724563813ed750ac42813e2023-10-23T04:07:49ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942023-12-0148e02685Undertaking wildlife surveys with unmanned aerial vehicles in rugged mountains with dense vegetation: A tentative model using Sichuan Snub-nosed monkeys in ChinaGang He0Xiaodong Yan1Xiao Zhang2Ming Guo3Jie Wang4Qiangxin Wei5Yibo Shen6Chengliang Wang7Yinghu Lei8Xuelin Jin9Xiduo Hou10Gaigai Guo11Yu Lu12Wenya Zhao13Yimin Feng14Hao Pan15Hexian Zhang16Huan Zou17Weifeng Wang18Ruliang Pan19Songtao Guo20Baoguo Li21Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, China; Corresponding authors.Management Bureau of Shaanxi Changqing National Nature Reserve, Hanzhong, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaManagement Bureau of Shaanxi Changqing National Nature Reserve, Hanzhong, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Institute of Zoology, Shaanxi Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, ChinaResearch Center for the Qinling Giant Panda (Shaanxi Rare Wildlife Rescue Base), Shaanxi Academy of Forestry Sciences, Xi'an, ChinaShaanxi Institute of Zoology, Shaanxi Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Nature Reserve and Wildlife Management Station, Shaanxi Forestry Bureau, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, China; School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, University of Western Australia, Western Australia 6907, Australia; International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, China; Corresponding authors.Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have broad applications. However, their use for wildlife surveys in rugged mountains with dense vegetation is uncommon. Therefore, developing appropriately designed methods, selecting suitable facilities, establishing effective monitoring processes, and managing databases that align with a region’s distinctive geographic landscapes, environments, ecology, and habitats are essential. This study focuses on the Giant Panda National Park in China’s densely vegetated Qinling Mountains to carry out surveys using UAVs to assess the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey population size (Rhinopithecus roxellana) over an area of 30,000 ha. The results indicate that eight distinct groups were identified, totaling 648–755 individuals. Thus, this study offers proof-of-principle for using UAVs for surveying wildlife in remote mountainous regions with complex landscapes and dense vegetation and demonstrates how UAVs can be used in animal monitoring and conservation. Furthermore, the study highlights the broader potential application of UAVs in other remote mountainous regions, where animal demographic information is urgently needed to establish database-driven conservation strategies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423003207UAV surveyDesign flight routesThe Qinling MountainsPrimatesPopulation size and distributionWildlife dynamic monitoring |
| spellingShingle | Gang He Xiaodong Yan Xiao Zhang Ming Guo Jie Wang Qiangxin Wei Yibo Shen Chengliang Wang Yinghu Lei Xuelin Jin Xiduo Hou Gaigai Guo Yu Lu Wenya Zhao Yimin Feng Hao Pan Hexian Zhang Huan Zou Weifeng Wang Ruliang Pan Songtao Guo Baoguo Li Undertaking wildlife surveys with unmanned aerial vehicles in rugged mountains with dense vegetation: A tentative model using Sichuan Snub-nosed monkeys in China Global Ecology and Conservation UAV survey Design flight routes The Qinling Mountains Primates Population size and distribution Wildlife dynamic monitoring |
| title | Undertaking wildlife surveys with unmanned aerial vehicles in rugged mountains with dense vegetation: A tentative model using Sichuan Snub-nosed monkeys in China |
| title_full | Undertaking wildlife surveys with unmanned aerial vehicles in rugged mountains with dense vegetation: A tentative model using Sichuan Snub-nosed monkeys in China |
| title_fullStr | Undertaking wildlife surveys with unmanned aerial vehicles in rugged mountains with dense vegetation: A tentative model using Sichuan Snub-nosed monkeys in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Undertaking wildlife surveys with unmanned aerial vehicles in rugged mountains with dense vegetation: A tentative model using Sichuan Snub-nosed monkeys in China |
| title_short | Undertaking wildlife surveys with unmanned aerial vehicles in rugged mountains with dense vegetation: A tentative model using Sichuan Snub-nosed monkeys in China |
| title_sort | undertaking wildlife surveys with unmanned aerial vehicles in rugged mountains with dense vegetation a tentative model using sichuan snub nosed monkeys in china |
| topic | UAV survey Design flight routes The Qinling Mountains Primates Population size and distribution Wildlife dynamic monitoring |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423003207 |
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