Medical professionals from emergency responders and third world aid workers to time-stressed staffers in large hospitals face a host of challenges every day-challenges unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, can help overcome.ĭrones make it possible to deliver blood, vaccines, birth control, snake bite serum and other medical supplies to rural areas and have the ability to reach victims who require immediate medical attention within minutes, which in some cases could mean the difference between life and death. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has already used our findings to place conditions on research projects and media activities involving drones.Providing communities with essential health care is no easy task. ![]() Disturbing shorebirds within the marine park is an offense that can result in fines. The Moreton Bay Marine Park, where this research was undertaken, is the single most important site in Australia for the eastern curlew. For the eastern curlew, we don't recommend approaches within 250m, even with small drones. In most cases this is about 60m, but it can vary significantly between species. Our findings provide clear-cut parameters around how much space to give birds to keep drone disturbance to a minimum. But managers need to understand how drones affect wildlife to inform these regulations. In some locations, such as some Australian national parks, drone use is already prohibited or restricted. Our research has shown that, for certain species, drones may overcome this barrier, providing information that may be pivotal in arresting shorebird population declines.ĭrones can be beneficial in many ways, but we must identify when and how drones can be used to minimize potential harm. Shorebirds spread out across vast mudflats to feed, making it very difficult to survey them on foot and identify critical foraging habitats. The eastern curlew is a critically endangered shorebird that is highly sensitive to drone-induced disturbance. In some cases, they can even be more accurate compared to traditional ground-based survey methods. They've been used to plant trees, deliver healthcare in developing countries, and have even proven useful for bird conservation.ĭrones can observe birds in places that are hard to reach on foot, such as birds of prey nesting in tree tops, or seabirds feeding on tidal inlets. While drones are unlikely to have played a major role in shorebird decline so far, our results, combined with the increasing presence of drones along our coastline, indicate they could become yet another source of disturbance for these birds, many of which are already endangered.Īt the same time, drones have proven to be a valuable tool. Research in 2011 indicated a population decline of 80% over three generations. The last few decades have been bleak for the eastern curlew, which is the world's largest migratory shorebird. Drone disturbance may contribute to population declines. Heartbreakingly, their global population has plummeted as they continue to battle habitat destruction, sea level rise, disturbance and hunting.Ī drone’s view of a flock of royal spoonbill. We studied a diverse group of birds typically found along coastlines, known as shorebirds. This is particularly concerning for species such as the eastern curlew, which migrate thousands of kilometers to breed. If birds are consistently interrupted or scared away from their preferred habitats, they may find it difficult to eat and rest enough to survive and reproduce. ![]() It can even cause them to avoid some locations altogether. But when the eastern curlew took flight, other nearby species were often startled, creating a domino effect that eventually caused the whole flock to take flight.ĭrone disturbance can interrupt birds as they rest or feed. The exception was the critically endangered eastern curlew, which became alarmed and flew away-even when a tiny drone approached at the maximum legal altitude of 120m. We found many species were not disturbed, provided the drone was small and flew above 60m. With strict animal ethics approval, we flew drones toward flocks of birds in Queensland's Moreton Bay.
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