Replication Data and Analyses for: J. Monsimet, S. Sjögersten, N.J. Sanders, M. Jonsson, J. Olofsson & M. Siewert, 2024. UAV data and deep learning: efficient tools to map the ecological footprint of ants mounds, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation.

This dataset corresponds to the article: "Jérémy Monsimet*¹, Sofie Sjögersten², Nathan J. Sanders³, Micael Jonsson¹, Johan Olofsson¹, Matthias Siewert¹, 2024. UAV data and deep learning: efficient tools to map the ecological footprint of ants mounds, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation"

DOI: 10.1002/rse2.400

1 Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Sweden2 School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, UK3 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, US

The gitlab repository of this dataset is available at: https://gitlab.com/Monsimet/uav_ants_treeline/-/tree/main/

In this repository, you will find the analyses and results presented in the paper. In each folder, there is a html file that can be read after downloading locally the whole folder. You can either run the .qmd file used to produce the html file or walk through the html files (see the readme.md for more information).

Paper abstract:

High‐resolution unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAVs) data have alleviated the mismatch between the scale of ecological processes and the scale of remotely sensed data, while machine learning and deep learning methods allow new avenues for quantification in ecology. Ant nests play key roles in ecosystem functioning, yet their distribution and effects on entire landscapes remain poorly understood, in part because they and their mounds are too small for satellite remote sensing. This research maps the distribution and impact of ant mounds in a 20 ha treeline ecotone. We evaluate the detectability from UAV imagery using a deep learning model for object detection and different combinations of RGB, thermal and multispectral sensor data. We were able to detect ant mounds in all imagery using manual detection and deep learning. However, the highest precision rates were achieved by deep learning using RGB data which has the highest spatial resolution (1.9 cm) at comparable UAV flight height. While multispectral data were outperformed for detection, it allows for novel insights into the ecology of ants and their spatial impact on vegetation productivity using the normalized difference vegetation index. Scaling up, this suggests that ant mounds quantifiably impact vegetation productivity for up to 4% of our study area and up to 8% of the Betula nana vegetation communities, the vegetation type with the highest abundance of ant mounds. Therefore, they could have an overlooked role in nutrient‐limited tundra vegetation, and on the shrubification of this habitat. Further, we show the powerful combination UAV multi‐sensor data and deep learning for efficient ecological tracking and monitoring of mound‐building ants and their spatial impact.