The prospects for the use of drone technology in the avian ecology research in Indonesia

Abstract

Drone technology has been expanding very fast in forestry and wildlife management, mainly for studying land-use, resource inventory, and wildlife population. The aim of the paper was to explore the prospects for the use of drones for studying wild birds in the tropical country of Indonesia. An intensive comparative literature study was performed, and a trial of behavioral study on a waterbird species was conducted. Drones for studying wild birds have been intensively used in the United States-Canada, Europe, and Australia. Common research topics were population study (especially at the difficult-to-reach habitat such as in Alaska, vast wetlands), monitoring (mainly breeding stages) and habitat selection. Large-sized birds nesting at the open area were excellent research objects. In Indonesia, very few trial research has been conducted, with waterbirds as target. Trial field study on the milky stork breeding behavior suggested that small drones can be used successfully. Challenges in the tropics were mostly weather condition (i.e., strong wind and heavy rain). The prospects to use drone for avian research in Indonesia is promising, although so far only targeted the large birds having a visible open nests such as waterbirds and raptors. Further research is needed to include many other bird groups.