| Titre : | Kite aerial photography: a low-cost method for monitoring seabird colonies |
| Titre original: | Kite aerial photography |
| Auteurs : | Karine Delord, Auteur ; Gildas Roudaut, Auteur ; Christophe Guinet, Auteur ; Christophe Barbraud, Auteur ; Sophie Bertrand, Auteur ; Henri Weimerskirch, Auteur |
| Type de document : | Article |
| Dans : | Journal of Field Ornithology (86(2) juin 1, 2015) |
| Article en page(s) : | 173-179 |
| Langues: | Anglais |
| Mots-clés: | Colonial seabirds ; census monitoring ; high resolution image ; kite-based platform |
| Résumé : | Obtaining aerial high-resolution images of bird nesting colonies using remote-sensing technology such as satellite-based remote sensing, manned aircraft, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles might not be possible for many researchers due to financial constraints. Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) provides a possible low-cost alternative. We collected digital images of ground-nesting seabirds (i.e., cormorants and penguins) in two different ecosystems using a kite-based platform equipped with consumer-grade digital cameras with time-lapse capability to obtain estimates of breeding population size. KAP proved to be an efficient method for acquiring high-resolution aerial images. We obtained images of colonies of seabirds ranging in size from hundreds to several hundreds of thousands breeding pairs during flights lasting from a few minutes up to three hours, from flat to very steep areas, and in contrasted wind conditions (from 0.5 to 6 Beaufort force). KAP is an efficient low-cost method for acquiring high-resolution aerial images and an alternative to ground-based censuses, especially useful in rugged areas. |
| En ligne : | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jofo.12100/abstract |



