ARTICLE AND FIGURES PROVIDED BY JESSICA BOHLANDER (PIFSC)
Principal Investigator: Jessica Bohlander
Co-Investigator: Alexander Gaos
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Protected Species Division
Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) and Hawaiian monk seals (Neomonachus schauinslandi) are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are listed as threatened. All three species use beaches throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago that are remote and difficult to access. This has precluded comprehensive investigations of these species by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) Protected Species Division (PSD) in remote areas which has inhibited holistic population evaluations of these priority species (Figure 1).
With support funding from the UAS Program Office, this project will use a platform new to the PIFSC Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) program: the DJI Mavic Pro Government Edition, to conduct a systematic assessment of remote beaches around the main Hawaiian Islands. This platform is substantially more compact and affordable than those previously used by PSD. The goals will be to test the new platform while inventorying and collecting individual identification and photogrammetric images of Hawaiian monk seals, hawksbill turtles and green turtles. These UAS surveys will be conducted from land to increase the efficiency of existing surveys and to survey areas that are difficult to access. The project will also help the PSD UAS program evolve through pilot training and development. It is expected that the incorporation of this new UAS platform will greatly improve the efficacy and efficiency of our field efforts and provide greater flexibility to our research needs. Through these activities, we will conduct essential population assessment surveys of multiple protected species, increase the utilization of UAS within PIFSC, and increase our institutional capacity to use this emerging technology.
With support funding from the UAS Program Office, this project will use a platform new to the PIFSC Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) program: the DJI Mavic Pro Government Edition, to conduct a systematic assessment of remote beaches around the main Hawaiian Islands. This platform is substantially more compact and affordable than those previously used by PSD. The goals will be to test the new platform while inventorying and collecting individual identification and photogrammetric images of Hawaiian monk seals, hawksbill turtles and green turtles. These UAS surveys will be conducted from land to increase the efficiency of existing surveys and to survey areas that are difficult to access. The project will also help the PSD UAS program evolve through pilot training and development. It is expected that the incorporation of this new UAS platform will greatly improve the efficacy and efficiency of our field efforts and provide greater flexibility to our research needs. Through these activities, we will conduct essential population assessment surveys of multiple protected species, increase the utilization of UAS within PIFSC, and increase our institutional capacity to use this emerging technology.