Pinel-Ramos, EJ, Aureli, F, Wich, S, Longmore, SN and Spaan, D (2024) Evaluating Thermal Infrared Drone Flight Parameters on Spider Monkey Detection in Tropical Forests. Sensors, 24 (17). ISSN 1424-8220

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Abstract

Geoffroy’s spider monkeys, an endangered, fast-moving arboreal primate species with a large home range and a high degree of fission–fusion dynamics, are challenging to survey in their natural habitats. Our objective was to evaluate how different flight parameters affect the detectability of spider monkeys in videos recorded by a drone equipped with a thermal infrared camera and examine the level of agreement between coders. We used generalized linear mixed models to evaluate the impact of flight speed (2, 4, 6 m/s), flight height (40, 50 m above ground level), and camera angle (−45°, −90°) on spider monkey counts in a closed-canopy forest in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Our results indicate that none of the three flight parameters affected the number of detected spider monkeys. Agreement between coders was “substantial” (Fleiss’ kappa coefficient = 0.61–0.80) in most cases for high thermal-contrast zones. Our study contributes to the development of standardized flight protocols, which are essential to obtain accurate data on the presence and abundance of wild populations. Based on our results, we recommend performing drone surveys for spider monkeys and other medium-sized arboreal mammals with a small commercial drone at a 4 m/s speed, 15 m above canopy height, and with a −90° camera angle. However, these recommendations may vary depending on the size and noise level produced by the drone model.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0205 Optical Physics; 0301 Analytical Chemistry; 0912 Materials Engineering; Analytical Chemistry
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Divisions:	Astrophysics Research Institute Biological & Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	MDPI
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	30 Aug 2024 16:08
Last Modified:	30 Aug 2024 16:15
DOI or ID number:	10.3390/s24175659
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/24054

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