Monitoring colonial seabirds with commercial marine radars
Abstract: Small marine radars have been used for many years to study birds, bats, and insects. Though almost all of these studies have been terrestrial, radar has a number of compelling advantages as a method for studying seabirds, especially at colonies. Marine radars are inexpensive and robust, an...
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Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.48448/rb07-2t95 https://underline.io/lecture/34778-monitoring-colonial-seabirds-with-commercial-marine-radars |
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ftdatacite:10.48448/rb07-2t95 2023-05-15T15:56:21+02:00 Monitoring colonial seabirds with commercial marine radars 3rd World Seabird Conference 2021 2021 https://dx.doi.org/10.48448/rb07-2t95 https://underline.io/lecture/34778-monitoring-colonial-seabirds-with-commercial-marine-radars unknown Underline Science Inc. Animal Science Ornithology Emerging Technologies MediaObject article Conference talk Audiovisual 2021 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.48448/rb07-2t95 2022-02-09T11:22:26Z Abstract: Small marine radars have been used for many years to study birds, bats, and insects. Though almost all of these studies have been terrestrial, radar has a number of compelling advantages as a method for studying seabirds, especially at colonies. Marine radars are inexpensive and robust, and can be set up to record automatically. Radar can detect and track both aggregations and individual birds with high resolution, and can operate in darkness and fog. It does not require telemetry devices, and can thus track the movements of an entire population rather than a small number of tagged animals. Despite these advantages, monitoring seabird colonies with radar involves a number of challenges. The detection range is limited to a few km, and radar reflections from the sea surface are a persistent source of interference and false detections. In general, species identification is not possible from radar data alone. And while it is possible to track hundreds of birds at once with a single radar, the data processing involved is non-trivial. I will present techniques and lessons learned from a radar study of a common tern (Sterna hirundo) colony in New York, USA in 2014-15, illustrating the challenges and capabilities of radar monitoring in this context. I will also discuss future possibilities for this technology, including both technological developments and applications for science and conservation. Despite their limitations, radars provide a view of seabird behavior unavailable with other technologies, and can play a unique and important role in the future of seabird ecology. Authors: Samuel Urmy¹ ¹Stony Brook University Article in Journal/Newspaper Common tern Sterna hirundo DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
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DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
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Animal Science Ornithology Emerging Technologies |
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Animal Science Ornithology Emerging Technologies 3rd World Seabird Conference 2021 Monitoring colonial seabirds with commercial marine radars |
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Animal Science Ornithology Emerging Technologies |
description |
Abstract: Small marine radars have been used for many years to study birds, bats, and insects. Though almost all of these studies have been terrestrial, radar has a number of compelling advantages as a method for studying seabirds, especially at colonies. Marine radars are inexpensive and robust, and can be set up to record automatically. Radar can detect and track both aggregations and individual birds with high resolution, and can operate in darkness and fog. It does not require telemetry devices, and can thus track the movements of an entire population rather than a small number of tagged animals. Despite these advantages, monitoring seabird colonies with radar involves a number of challenges. The detection range is limited to a few km, and radar reflections from the sea surface are a persistent source of interference and false detections. In general, species identification is not possible from radar data alone. And while it is possible to track hundreds of birds at once with a single radar, the data processing involved is non-trivial. I will present techniques and lessons learned from a radar study of a common tern (Sterna hirundo) colony in New York, USA in 2014-15, illustrating the challenges and capabilities of radar monitoring in this context. I will also discuss future possibilities for this technology, including both technological developments and applications for science and conservation. Despite their limitations, radars provide a view of seabird behavior unavailable with other technologies, and can play a unique and important role in the future of seabird ecology. Authors: Samuel Urmy¹ ¹Stony Brook University |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
3rd World Seabird Conference 2021 |
author_facet |
3rd World Seabird Conference 2021 |
author_sort |
3rd World Seabird Conference 2021 |
title |
Monitoring colonial seabirds with commercial marine radars |
title_short |
Monitoring colonial seabirds with commercial marine radars |
title_full |
Monitoring colonial seabirds with commercial marine radars |
title_fullStr |
Monitoring colonial seabirds with commercial marine radars |
title_full_unstemmed |
Monitoring colonial seabirds with commercial marine radars |
title_sort |
monitoring colonial seabirds with commercial marine radars |
publisher |
Underline Science Inc. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.48448/rb07-2t95 https://underline.io/lecture/34778-monitoring-colonial-seabirds-with-commercial-marine-radars |
genre |
Common tern Sterna hirundo |
genre_facet |
Common tern Sterna hirundo |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.48448/rb07-2t95 |
_version_ |
1766391787686985728 |