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Maeda T, Yamamoto S. Drone Observation for the Quantitative Study of Complex Multilevel Societies. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:1911. [PMID: 37370421 DOI: 10.3390/ani13121911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) have recently been used in various behavioral ecology studies. However, their application has been limited to single groups, and most studies have not implemented individual identification. A multilevel society refers to a social structure in which small stable "core units" gather and make a larger, multiple-unit group. Here, we introduce recent applications of drone technology and individual identification to complex social structures involving multiple groups, such as multilevel societies. Drones made it possible to obtain the identification, accurate positioning, or movement of more than a hundred individuals in a multilevel social group. In addition, in multilevel social groups, drones facilitate the observation of heterogeneous spatial positioning patterns and mechanisms of behavioral propagation, which are different from those in a single-level group. Such findings may contribute to the quantitative definition and assessment of multilevel societies and enhance our understanding of mechanisms of multiple group aggregation. The application of drones to various species may resolve various questions related to multilevel societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamao Maeda
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8203, Japan
- Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, The Graduate University of Advanced Science (SOKENDAI), Hayama 240-0193, Japan
| | - Shinya Yamamoto
- Institute of Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
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2
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Wu Z, Zhang C, Gu X, Duporge I, Hughey LF, Stabach JA, Skidmore AK, Hopcraft JGC, Lee SJ, Atkinson PM, McCauley DJ, Lamprey R, Ngene S, Wang T. Deep learning enables satellite-based monitoring of large populations of terrestrial mammals across heterogeneous landscape. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3072. [PMID: 37244940 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38901-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023] Open
Abstract
New satellite remote sensing and machine learning techniques offer untapped possibilities to monitor global biodiversity with unprecedented speed and precision. These efficiencies promise to reveal novel ecological insights at spatial scales which are germane to the management of populations and entire ecosystems. Here, we present a robust transferable deep learning pipeline to automatically locate and count large herds of migratory ungulates (wildebeest and zebra) in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem using fine-resolution (38-50 cm) satellite imagery. The results achieve accurate detection of nearly 500,000 individuals across thousands of square kilometers and multiple habitat types, with an overall F1-score of 84.75% (Precision: 87.85%, Recall: 81.86%). This research demonstrates the capability of satellite remote sensing and machine learning techniques to automatically and accurately count very large populations of terrestrial mammals across a highly heterogeneous landscape. We also discuss the potential for satellite-derived species detections to advance basic understanding of animal behavior and ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zijing Wu
- Department of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Ce Zhang
- Lancaster Environment Center, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster, UK
| | - Xiaowei Gu
- School of Computing, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Isla Duporge
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Army Research Office, Durham, NC, USA
- The National Academies of Sciences, Washington, D.C., USA
| | - Lacey F Hughey
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | - Jared A Stabach
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | - Andrew K Skidmore
- Department of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - J Grant C Hopcraft
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health, and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Stephen J Lee
- U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Army Research Office, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Peter M Atkinson
- Lancaster Environment Center, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
- Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Douglas J McCauley
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Richard Lamprey
- Department of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Shadrack Ngene
- Wildlife Research and Training Institute, Naivasha, Kenya
| | - Tiejun Wang
- Department of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
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Qian Y, Humphries GRW, Trathan PN, Lowther A, Donovan CR. Counting animals in aerial images with a density map estimation model. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9903. [PMID: 37038528 PMCID: PMC10082175 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal abundance estimation is increasingly based on drone or aerial survey photography. Manual postprocessing has been used extensively; however, volumes of such data are increasing, necessitating some level of automation, either for complete counting, or as a labour-saving tool. Any automated processing can be challenging when using such tools on species that nest in close formation such as Pygoscelis penguins. We present here a customized CNN-based density map estimation method for counting of penguins from low-resolution aerial photography. Our model, an indirect regression algorithm, performed significantly better in terms of counting accuracy than standard detection algorithm (Faster-RCNN) when counting small objects from low-resolution images and gave an error rate of only 0.8 percent. Density map estimation methods as demonstrated here can vastly improve our ability to count animals in tight aggregations and demonstrably improve monitoring efforts from aerial imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifei Qian
- School of Mathematics and StatisticsUniversity of St AndrewsSt AndrewsFifeKY169AJUK
| | - Grant R. W. Humphries
- HiDef Aerial Surveying Ltd, The ObservatoryDobies Business ParkLillyhallCumbriaCA14 4HXUK
| | - Philip N. Trathan
- British Antarctic SurveyHigh Cross, Madingley RoadCambridgeCB3 0ETUK
- Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre SouthamptonUniversity of SouthamptonUniversity RoadSouthamptonSO17 1BJUK
| | - Andrew Lowther
- Norwegian Polar InstituteFramsenteret, Postboks 6606, Stakkevollan9296TromsøNorway
| | - Carl R. Donovan
- School of Mathematics and StatisticsUniversity of St AndrewsSt AndrewsFifeKY169AJUK
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Unmanned aerial vehicle surveys reveal unexpectedly high density of a threatened deer in a plantation forestry landscape. ORYX 2022. [DOI: 10.1017/s0030605321001058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The Vulnerable marsh deer Blastocerus dichotomus, the largest native cervid in South America, is declining throughout its range as a result of the conversion of wetlands and overhunting. Estimated densities in open wetlands of several types are 0.1–6.8 individuals per km2. We undertook the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) survey of the marsh deer to estimate the density of this species in a 113.6 km2 area under forestry management in the lower delta of the Paraná River, Argentina. During 6–8 August 2019, at a time of year when canopy cover is minimal, we surveyed marsh deer using Phantom 4 Pro UAVs along 94 transects totalling 127.8 km and 8.6 km2 (8.1% of the study area). The 5,506 photographs obtained were manually checked by us and by a group of 39 trained volunteers, following a standardized protocol. We detected a total of 58 marsh deer, giving an estimated density of 6.90 individuals per km2 (95% CI 5.26–8.54), which extrapolates to 559–908 individuals in our 113.6 km2 study area. As it has generally been assumed that marsh deer prefer open habitats, this relatively high estimate of density within a forestry plantation matrix is unexpected. We discuss the advantages of using UAVs to survey marsh deer and other related ungulates.
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Chabot D, Stapleton S, Francis CM. Using Web images to train a deep neural network to detect sparsely distributed wildlife in large volumes of remotely sensed imagery: A case study of polar bears on sea ice. ECOL INFORM 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2021.101547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Studying feral horse behavior from the sky. ARTIFICIAL LIFE AND ROBOTICS 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10015-022-00746-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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8
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Wang D, Song Q, Liao X, Ye H, Shao Q, Fan J, Cong N, Xin X, Yue H, Zhang H. Integrating satellite and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) imagery to model livestock population dynamics in the Longbao Wetland National Nature Reserve, China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 746:140327. [PMID: 32768776 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Revised: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The collection of field-based animal data is laborious, risky and costly in some areas, such as various nature reserves. Although multiple studies have used satellite imagery, aerial imagery, and field data individually for some animal species surveys, several technical issues still need to be addressed before full standardization of remote sensing methods for modeling animal population dynamics over large areas. This study is the first to model the population dynamics of livestock in the Longbao Wetland National Nature Reserve, China by utilizing yak estimations from Worldview-2 satellite imagery (0.5 m) collected in 2010 and yaks counted in a ground-based survey conducted in 2011 in combination with the animal population structure precisely extracted from UAS imagery captured in 2016. As a consequence, 5501, 5357, and 5510 yaks were estimated to appear in the reserve in 2010, 2011 and 2016, respectively. In total, 1092, 1062 and 1092 sheep were estimated to appear in the reserve in 2010, 2011 and 2016, respectively. The uncertainty of the presented method is also discussed. Primary experiments show that both the satellite imagery and UAS imagery are promising for use in yak censuses, but no sheep were observed in the satellite imagery because of the low resolution. Compared to the ground-based survey conducted in 2011, the UAS image estimate and satellite imagery count deviated in yak quantity by 2.69% and 2.86%, respectively. UASs are a reliable and low-budget alternative to animal surveys. No discernable changes in animal behaviors and animal distributions were observed as the UAS passed at a height of 700 m, and the accuracy of UAS imagery counts were not significantly affected by the short-distance animal movement and image mosaicking errors. The experimental results illustrate the advantages of the combination of satellite and UAS imagery in modeling animal population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongliang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China; State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Institute of UAV Application Research, Tianjin and CAS, Tianjin 301800, China.
| | - Qingjie Song
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Xiaohan Liao
- State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Institute of UAV Application Research, Tianjin and CAS, Tianjin 301800, China.
| | - Huping Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Institute of UAV Application Research, Tianjin and CAS, Tianjin 301800, China.
| | - Quanqin Shao
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Jiangwen Fan
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Nan Cong
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Xiaoping Xin
- National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
| | - Huanyin Yue
- State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Institute of UAV Application Research, Tianjin and CAS, Tianjin 301800, China.
| | - Haiyan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China.
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Surveying Wild Animals from Satellites, Manned Aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs): A Review. REMOTE SENSING 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/rs11111308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This article reviews studies regarding wild animal surveys based on multiple platforms, including satellites, manned aircraft, and unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), and focuses on the data used, animal detection methods, and their accuracies. We also discuss the advantages and limitations of each type of remote sensing data and highlight some new research opportunities and challenges. Submeter very-high-resolution (VHR) spaceborne imagery has potential in modeling the population dynamics of large (>0.6 m) wild animals at large spatial and temporal scales, but has difficulty discerning small (<0.6 m) animals at the species level, although high-resolution commercial satellites, such as WorldView-3 and -4, have been able to collect images with a ground resolution of up to 0.31 m in panchromatic mode. This situation will not change unless the satellite image resolution is greatly improved in the future. Manned aerial surveys have long been employed to capture the centimeter-scale images required for animal censuses over large areas. However, such aerial surveys are costly to implement in small areas and can cause significant disturbances to wild animals because of their noise. In contrast, UAS surveys are seen as a safe, convenient and less expensive alternative to ground-based and conventional manned aerial surveys, but most UASs can cover only small areas. The proposed use of UAS imagery in combination with VHR satellite imagery would produce critical population data for large wild animal species and colonies over large areas. The development of software systems for automatically producing image mosaics and recognizing wild animals will further improve survey efficiency.
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Torney CJ, Lloyd‐Jones DJ, Chevallier M, Moyer DC, Maliti HT, Mwita M, Kohi EM, Hopcraft GC. A comparison of deep learning and citizen science techniques for counting wildlife in aerial survey images. Methods Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Colin J. Torney
- School of Mathematics and StatisticsUniversity of Glasgow Glasgow UK
| | - David J. Lloyd‐Jones
- FitzPatrick Institute of African OrnithologyDST‐NRF Centre of ExcellenceUniversity of Cape Town Rondebosch South Africa
| | - Mark Chevallier
- School of Mathematics and StatisticsUniversity of Glasgow Glasgow UK
| | - David C. Moyer
- Integrated Research CenterThe Field Museum of Natural History Chicago Illinois
| | | | - Machoke Mwita
- Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute Arusha Tanzania
| | | | - Grant C. Hopcraft
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative MedicineUniversity of Glasgow Glasgow UK
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11
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Torney CJ, Lamont M, Debell L, Angohiatok RJ, Leclerc LM, Berdahl AM. Inferring the rules of social interaction in migrating caribou. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0385. [PMID: 29581404 PMCID: PMC5882989 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions are a significant factor that influence the decision-making of species ranging from humans to bacteria. In the context of animal migration, social interactions may lead to improved decision-making, greater ability to respond to environmental cues, and the cultural transmission of optimal routes. Despite their significance, the precise nature of social interactions in migrating species remains largely unknown. Here we deploy unmanned aerial systems to collect aerial footage of caribou as they undertake their migration from Victoria Island to mainland Canada. Through a Bayesian analysis of trajectories we reveal the fine-scale interaction rules of migrating caribou and show they are attracted to one another and copy directional choices of neighbours, but do not interact through clearly defined metric or topological interaction ranges. By explicitly considering the role of social information on movement decisions we construct a map of near neighbour influence that quantifies the nature of information flow in these herds. These results will inform more realistic, mechanism-based models of migration in caribou and other social ungulates, leading to better predictions of spatial use patterns and responses to changing environmental conditions. Moreover, we anticipate that the protocol we developed here will be broadly applicable to study social behaviour in a wide range of migratory and non-migratory taxa. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Collective movement ecology’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin J Torney
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QW, UK .,Centre for Mathematics & the Environment, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9EZ, UK
| | - Myles Lamont
- TerraFauna Wildlife Consulting, 19313 Zero Avenue, Surrey, BC, Canada, V3Z 9R9.,Government of Nunavut, Department of Environment, Kugluktuk, NU, Canada, X0B 0E0
| | - Leon Debell
- Centre for Mathematics & the Environment, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9EZ, UK
| | | | - Lisa-Marie Leclerc
- Government of Nunavut, Department of Environment, Kugluktuk, NU, Canada, X0B 0E0
| | - Andrew M Berdahl
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA .,School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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12
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Simplified procedure for efficient and unbiased population size estimation. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0206091. [PMID: 30372479 PMCID: PMC6205639 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Population size estimation is relevant to social and ecological sciences. Exhaustive manual counting, the density method and automated computer vision are some of the estimation methods that are currently used. Some of these methods may work in concrete cases but they do not provide a fast, efficient and unbiased estimation in general. Recently, the CountEm method, based on systematic sampling with a grid of quadrats, was proposed. It offers an unbiased estimation that can be applied to any population. However, choosing suitable grid parameters is sometimes cumbersome. Here we define a more intuitive grid parametrization, using initial number of quadrats and sampling fraction. A crowd counting dataset with 51 images and their corresponding, manually annotated position point patterns, are used to analyze the variation of the coefficient of error with respect to different parameter choices. Our Monte Carlo resampling results show that the error depends on the sample size and the number of nonempty quadrats, but not on the size of the target population. A procedure to choose suitable parameter values is described, and the expected coefficients of error are given. Counting about 100 particles in 30 nonempty quadrats usually yields coefficients of error below 10%.
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Inoue S, Yamamoto S, Ringhofer M, Mendonça RS, Pereira C, Hirata S. Spatial positioning of individuals in a group of feral horses: a case study using drone technology. MAMMAL RES 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-018-0400-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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14
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Hughey LF, Hein AM, Strandburg-Peshkin A, Jensen FH. Challenges and solutions for studying collective animal behaviour in the wild. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170005. [PMID: 29581390 PMCID: PMC5882975 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Mobile animal groups provide some of the most compelling examples of self-organization in the natural world. While field observations of songbird flocks wheeling in the sky or anchovy schools fleeing from predators have inspired considerable interest in the mechanics of collective motion, the challenge of simultaneously monitoring multiple animals in the field has historically limited our capacity to study collective behaviour of wild animal groups with precision. However, recent technological advancements now present exciting opportunities to overcome many of these limitations. Here we review existing methods used to collect data on the movements and interactions of multiple animals in a natural setting. We then survey emerging technologies that are poised to revolutionize the study of collective animal behaviour by extending the spatial and temporal scales of inquiry, increasing data volume and quality, and expediting the post-processing of raw data.This article is part of the theme issue 'Collective movement ecology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lacey F Hughey
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Andrew M Hein
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Frants H Jensen
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
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15
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Weinstein BG. A computer vision for animal ecology. J Anim Ecol 2017; 87:533-545. [PMID: 29111567 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 194] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A central goal of animal ecology is to observe species in the natural world. The cost and challenge of data collection often limit the breadth and scope of ecological study. Ecologists often use image capture to bolster data collection in time and space. However, the ability to process these images remains a bottleneck. Computer vision can greatly increase the efficiency, repeatability and accuracy of image review. Computer vision uses image features, such as colour, shape and texture to infer image content. I provide a brief primer on ecological computer vision to outline its goals, tools and applications to animal ecology. I reviewed 187 existing applications of computer vision and divided articles into ecological description, counting and identity tasks. I discuss recommendations for enhancing the collaboration between ecologists and computer scientists and highlight areas for future growth of automated image analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben G Weinstein
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, USA
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16
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Valletta JJ, Torney C, Kings M, Thornton A, Madden J. Applications of machine learning in animal behaviour studies. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 230] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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