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From drones to data: the role of technology in wildlife conservation
BASC’s Dr Cat McNicol discusses the impact that rapid advances in technology are having on research centred around sustainable shooting and conservation.
As I write this on my laptop, working remotely at home, and you read this on your phone during your lunchbreak, it is evident that the way we work has been transformed by technology. This is true for factories, farming and offices as well as researchers and scientists in the field.
With an ongoing biodiversity crisis, finding ways to gather more data more quickly and efficiently is vital. The faster we can improve our understanding of habitats and species, the sooner we can enhance our management. Cue rapid expansion of tech and automation in conservation research.
Drones and cameras put to good use
Drones are now being used to great effect to improve counts of wildlife, assess environmental changes, monitor inaccessible areas and survey different habitats. All this is delivered at a resolution much greater than satellites, providing real-time, up-to-date data.
A recent study used drones to collect data on vegetation quality in upland sites grazed by livestock and investigate how this impacted meadow pipit territories[1].
Meadow pipits are important prey for hen harriers and changes to the abundance of the species could have knock on effects further up the food chain. Without drones to be our ‘eyes in the sky’, it could be hard to capture such fine-scale changes resulting from grazing, and so quickly too.
Camera traps, which in themselves have revolutionised the way we observe wildlife, have improved yet further by the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI). Some more advanced camera traps on the market can now identify specific species and process images and videos they capture to reduce processing time for users.
A study by Liverpool John Moores University and GWCT developed a method to detect and classify curlews and their chicks on camera-traps that uploaded real-time data to online platforms [2]. This rapid, automated assessment of images allows conservationists to act much more quickly, in this instance intervening to protect curlew eggs and chicks against predation.
Changing analysis
Technological enhancements have also transformed the way laboratories can process samples. Where we previously may have needed large samples and lots of time to look at genetics or species’ diets, we now have huge databases of DNA that help us answer questions we didn’t even know we had.
One method, called DNA metabarcoding, was recently used to study deer droppings and learn what fallow deer eat in British woodlands [3]. This study revealed that, instead of eating mostly grass in open fields, fallow deer mainly ate bramble all year round.
Researchers believe this could be linked to changes in British woodlands such as extreme weather events, loss of many trees due to diseases (such as ash dieback), alongside increased woodland creation. These changes affect the canopy cover and the vegetation found there. The interactions between deer, woodland habitat and their respective management are therefore complex and, without such advanced lab technology, could be over-simplified.
Making technology work for you
These recently published studies are examples of outputs that have used advancements in technology to answer conservation questions, while improving the effectiveness and pace at which wildlife management is delivered.
As land and wildlife managers, many of us are using drones, camera traps and sampling methods that make our jobs easier. This could include traps that text us when they have been triggered, using 4G trail cameras to detect predators and control them quickly, or recording spatially accurate data on our phones.
At BASC we are taking advantage of these changes too, with plans in 2025 including the use of innovative methods to survey for cryptic birds and satellite data to assess habitats used by gamebirds and wildfowl.
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Dr Cat McNicol
Scientific advisor working as part of BASC’s evidence and environmental law team. Cat holds a PhD in Wildlife Science and has spent much of her career so far working on grey squirrels and pine martens. Cat’s work at BASC focuses on providing guidance and evidence on the positive impacts that practical conservation work can have for both shooting interests and the environment.
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