An accurate and adaptable photogrammetric approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds using an unmanned aerial system
Measurements of body size and mass are fundamental to pinniped population management and research. Manual measurements tend to be accurate but are invasive and logistically challenging to obtain. Ground-based photogrammetric techniques are less invasive, but inherent limitations make them impractica...
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ftrepec:oai:RePEc:plo:pone00:0187465 2023-05-15T13:50:17+02:00 An accurate and adaptable photogrammetric approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds using an unmanned aerial system Douglas J Krause Jefferson T Hinke Wayne L Perryman Michael E Goebel Donald J LeRoi https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187465 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187465&type=printable unknown https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187465 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187465&type=printable article ftrepec 2020-12-04T13:34:09Z Measurements of body size and mass are fundamental to pinniped population management and research. Manual measurements tend to be accurate but are invasive and logistically challenging to obtain. Ground-based photogrammetric techniques are less invasive, but inherent limitations make them impractical for many field applications. The recent proliferation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in wildlife monitoring has provided a promising new platform for the photogrammetry of free-ranging pinnipeds. Leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) are an apex predator in coastal Antarctica whose body condition could be a valuable indicator of ecosystem health. We aerially surveyed leopard seals of known body size and mass to test the precision and accuracy of photogrammetry from a small UAS. Flights were conducted in January and February of 2013 and 2014 and 50 photogrammetric samples were obtained from 15 unrestrained seals. UAS-derived measurements of standard length were accurate to within 2.01 ± 1.06%, and paired comparisons with ground measurements were statistically indistinguishable. An allometric linear mixed effects model predicted leopard seal mass within 19.40 kg (4.4% error for a 440 kg seal). Photogrammetric measurements from a single, vertical image obtained using UAS provide a noninvasive approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds that may be widely applicable. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seal Leopard Seals RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) Hydrurga ENVELOPE(-61.626,-61.626,-64.145,-64.145) |
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RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
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Measurements of body size and mass are fundamental to pinniped population management and research. Manual measurements tend to be accurate but are invasive and logistically challenging to obtain. Ground-based photogrammetric techniques are less invasive, but inherent limitations make them impractical for many field applications. The recent proliferation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in wildlife monitoring has provided a promising new platform for the photogrammetry of free-ranging pinnipeds. Leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) are an apex predator in coastal Antarctica whose body condition could be a valuable indicator of ecosystem health. We aerially surveyed leopard seals of known body size and mass to test the precision and accuracy of photogrammetry from a small UAS. Flights were conducted in January and February of 2013 and 2014 and 50 photogrammetric samples were obtained from 15 unrestrained seals. UAS-derived measurements of standard length were accurate to within 2.01 ± 1.06%, and paired comparisons with ground measurements were statistically indistinguishable. An allometric linear mixed effects model predicted leopard seal mass within 19.40 kg (4.4% error for a 440 kg seal). Photogrammetric measurements from a single, vertical image obtained using UAS provide a noninvasive approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds that may be widely applicable. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Douglas J Krause Jefferson T Hinke Wayne L Perryman Michael E Goebel Donald J LeRoi |
spellingShingle |
Douglas J Krause Jefferson T Hinke Wayne L Perryman Michael E Goebel Donald J LeRoi An accurate and adaptable photogrammetric approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds using an unmanned aerial system |
author_facet |
Douglas J Krause Jefferson T Hinke Wayne L Perryman Michael E Goebel Donald J LeRoi |
author_sort |
Douglas J Krause |
title |
An accurate and adaptable photogrammetric approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds using an unmanned aerial system |
title_short |
An accurate and adaptable photogrammetric approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds using an unmanned aerial system |
title_full |
An accurate and adaptable photogrammetric approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds using an unmanned aerial system |
title_fullStr |
An accurate and adaptable photogrammetric approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds using an unmanned aerial system |
title_full_unstemmed |
An accurate and adaptable photogrammetric approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds using an unmanned aerial system |
title_sort |
accurate and adaptable photogrammetric approach for estimating the mass and body condition of pinnipeds using an unmanned aerial system |
url |
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187465 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187465&type=printable |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.626,-61.626,-64.145,-64.145) |
geographic |
Hydrurga |
geographic_facet |
Hydrurga |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seal Leopard Seals |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seal Leopard Seals |
op_relation |
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187465 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187465&type=printable |
_version_ |
1766253317387714560 |