Data from: Seabird species vary in behavioural response to drone census

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide an opportunity to rapidly census wildlife in remote areas while removing some of the hazards. However, wildlife may respond negatively to the UAVs, thereby skewing counts. We surveyed four species of Arctic cliff-nesting seabirds (glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus, Iceland gull Larus glaucoides, common murre Uria aalge and thick-billed murre Uria lomvia) using a UAV and compared censusing techniques to ground photography. An average of 8.5% of murres flew off in response to the UAV, but >99% of those birds were non-breeders. We were unable to detect any impact of the UAV on breeding success of murres, except at a site where aerial predators were abundant and several birds lost their eggs to predators following UAV flights. Furthermore, we found little evidence for habituation by murres to the UAV. Most gulls flew off in response to the UAV, but returned to the nest within five minutes. Counts of gull nests and adults were similar between UAV and ground photography, however the UAV detected up to 52.4% more chicks because chicks were camouflaged and invisible to ground observers. UAVs provide a less hazardous and potentially more accurate method for surveying wildlife. We provide some simple recommendations for their use.无人机（Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, UAVs）可为偏远地区野生动物的快速普查提供契机，同时规避部分作业风险。但野生动物可能对无人机产生负面应激反应，进而导致统计数据出现偏差。本研究采用无人机对4种北极崖巢海鸟开展调查，涵盖灰鸥（Larus hyperboreus）、冰岛鸥（Larus glaucoides）、普通海鸠（Uria aalge）及厚嘴海鸠（Uria lomvia），并将无人机普查技术与地面摄影法进行对比。平均8.5%的海鸠会因无人机靠近而飞离巢穴，但其中超过99%均为非繁殖个体。本研究未检测到无人机对海鸠繁殖成功率存在显著影响，仅在一处空中捕食者密度较高的调查点，部分海鸠在无人机飞行后出现卵被捕食者取食的情况。此外，几乎无证据表明海鸠会对无人机产生习惯化。多数鸥类会因无人机靠近而飞离巢穴，但可在5分钟内返回。无人机与地面摄影法统计的鸥类巢穴及成鸟数量基本一致，但无人机可多检出最高达52.4%的幼鸟——这是由于幼鸟具有保护色，地面观测者无法直接发现其踪迹。无人机为野生动物调查提供了一种风险更低、潜在精度更高的技术手段。本研究针对其实际应用提出若干简易建议。