Nesting Common Eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) show little behavioral response to fixed-wing drone surveys
Drones may be valuable in polar research because they can minimize researcher activity and overcome logistical, financial, and safety obstacles associated with wildlife research in polar regions. Because polar species may be particularly sensitive to disturbance and some research suggests behavioral...
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2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 2023-12-17T10:28:54+01:00 Nesting Common Eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) show little behavioral response to fixed-wing drone surveys Ellis-Felege, Susan N. Stechmann, Tanner Hervey, Samuel Felege, Christopher J. Rockwell, Robert F. Barnas, Andrew F. 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Drone Systems and Applications volume 10, issue 1, page 1-14 ISSN 2564-4939 journal-article 2022 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 2023-11-19T13:39:41Z Drones may be valuable in polar research because they can minimize researcher activity and overcome logistical, financial, and safety obstacles associated with wildlife research in polar regions. Because polar species may be particularly sensitive to disturbance and some research suggests behavioral responses to drones are species-specific, there is a need for focal species-specific disturbance assessments. We evaluated behavioral responses of nesting Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima (Linnaeus, 1758), n = 19 incubating females) to first, second, or in a few cases third exposure of fixed-wing drone surveys using nest cameras. We found no effect of drone flights (F [1,23] = 0, P = 1.0) or previous exposures (F [1,23] = 0.75, P = 0.397) on the probability of a daily recess event (bird leaves nests). Drone flights did not impact recess length (F [1,25] = 1.34, P = 0.26); however, Common Eiders with prior drone exposure took longer recess events (F [1,25] = 5.27, P = 0.03). We did not observe any overhead vigilance behaviors common in other species while the drone was in the air, which may reflect Common Eiders’ anti-predator strategies of reducing activity at nests in response to aerial predators. Surveying nesting Common Eider colonies with a fixed-wing drone did not result in biologically meaningful behavioral changes, providing a potential tool for research and monitoring this polar nesting species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common Eider Somateria mollissima Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Recess ENVELOPE(-61.516,-61.516,-64.500,-64.500) Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Drones may be valuable in polar research because they can minimize researcher activity and overcome logistical, financial, and safety obstacles associated with wildlife research in polar regions. Because polar species may be particularly sensitive to disturbance and some research suggests behavioral responses to drones are species-specific, there is a need for focal species-specific disturbance assessments. We evaluated behavioral responses of nesting Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima (Linnaeus, 1758), n = 19 incubating females) to first, second, or in a few cases third exposure of fixed-wing drone surveys using nest cameras. We found no effect of drone flights (F [1,23] = 0, P = 1.0) or previous exposures (F [1,23] = 0.75, P = 0.397) on the probability of a daily recess event (bird leaves nests). Drone flights did not impact recess length (F [1,25] = 1.34, P = 0.26); however, Common Eiders with prior drone exposure took longer recess events (F [1,25] = 5.27, P = 0.03). We did not observe any overhead vigilance behaviors common in other species while the drone was in the air, which may reflect Common Eiders’ anti-predator strategies of reducing activity at nests in response to aerial predators. Surveying nesting Common Eider colonies with a fixed-wing drone did not result in biologically meaningful behavioral changes, providing a potential tool for research and monitoring this polar nesting species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ellis-Felege, Susan N. Stechmann, Tanner Hervey, Samuel Felege, Christopher J. Rockwell, Robert F. Barnas, Andrew F. |
spellingShingle |
Ellis-Felege, Susan N. Stechmann, Tanner Hervey, Samuel Felege, Christopher J. Rockwell, Robert F. Barnas, Andrew F. Nesting Common Eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) show little behavioral response to fixed-wing drone surveys |
author_facet |
Ellis-Felege, Susan N. Stechmann, Tanner Hervey, Samuel Felege, Christopher J. Rockwell, Robert F. Barnas, Andrew F. |
author_sort |
Ellis-Felege, Susan N. |
title |
Nesting Common Eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) show little behavioral response to fixed-wing drone surveys |
title_short |
Nesting Common Eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) show little behavioral response to fixed-wing drone surveys |
title_full |
Nesting Common Eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) show little behavioral response to fixed-wing drone surveys |
title_fullStr |
Nesting Common Eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) show little behavioral response to fixed-wing drone surveys |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nesting Common Eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) show little behavioral response to fixed-wing drone surveys |
title_sort |
nesting common eiders ( somateria mollissima ) show little behavioral response to fixed-wing drone surveys |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.516,-61.516,-64.500,-64.500) |
geographic |
Recess |
geographic_facet |
Recess |
genre |
Common Eider Somateria mollissima |
genre_facet |
Common Eider Somateria mollissima |
op_source |
Drone Systems and Applications volume 10, issue 1, page 1-14 ISSN 2564-4939 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/juvs-2021-0012 |
container_title |
Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems |
_version_ |
1785581138604982272 |