Using unmanned aerial vehicles and machine learning to improve sea cucumber density estimation in shallow habitats ICES Journal of Marine Science

Sea cucumber populations around the globe are experiencing marked declines caused by overexploitation and habitat degradation. Fisheries-independent data used to manage these ecologically and economically important species are frequently collected using diver- or snorkeler-based surveys, which have a number of limitations, including small spatial coverage and observer biases. In the present study, we explored how pairing traditional transect surveys with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and machine learning could improve sea cucumber density estimation in shallow environments. In July 2018, we conducted 24 simultaneous snorkeler–UAV transects in Tetiaroa, French Polynesia. All UAV images were independently reviewed by three observers and a convolution neural network (CNN) model: ResNet50. All three methods (snorkelers, manual review of UAV images, and ResNet50) produced similar counts, except at relatively high densities (∼75 sea cucumber 40 m−2), where UAVs and CNNs began to underestimate. Using a UAV-derived photomosaic of the study site, we simulated potential transect locations and determined a minimum of five samples were required to reliably estimate densities, while sample variance plateaued after 25 transects. Collectively, these results illustrate UAVs’ ability to survey small invertebrate species, while saving time, money, and labour compared to traditional methods, and highlights their potential to maximize efficiency when designing transect surveys.