Unmanned aircraft systems as a new source of disturbance for wildlife: A systematic review

Abstract

The use of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS; also known as "drones") for professional and personal-leisure use is increasing enormously. UAS operate at low altitudes (<500 m) and in any terrain, thus they are susceptible to interact with local fauna, generating a new type of anthropogenic disturbance that has not been systematically evaluated. To address this gap, we performed a review of the existent literature about animals' responses to UAS flights and conducted a pooled analysis of the data to determine the probability and intensity of the disturbance, and to identify the factors influencing animals' reactions towards the small aircraft. We found that wildlife reactions depended on both the UAS attributes (flight pattern, engine type and size of aircraft) and the characteristics of animals themselves (type of animal, life-history stage and level of aggregation). Target-oriented flight patterns, larger UAS sizes, and fuel-powered (noisier) engines evoked the strongest reactions in wildlife. Animals during the non-breeding period and in large groups were more likely to show behavioral reactions to UAS, and birds are more prone to react than other taxa. We discuss the implications of these results in the context of wildlife disturbance and suggest guidelines for conservationists, users and manufacturers to minimize the impact of UAS. In addition, we propose that the legal framework needs to be adapted so that appropriate actions can be undertaken when wildlife is negatively affected by these emergent practices.

Fig 1. Mean probability of wildlife reaction with 95% CrI (S1 Table) according to UAS flight pattern (a, d), UAS engine type (b, e), and type of animals concerned (c, f).

(Model 1: 0 = no reaction vs. 1 = reaction [either alert or active; N = 167]; Model 2: 0 = alert vs. 1 = active response; N = 106).

Fig 2. Factors influencing the AGL (m) with 95% CrI (S2 Table) at which animal respond actively during target-oriented flights (Model 3; N = 12; a) life-history stage and b) UAS size), and during lawn-mower pattern flights (Model 4; N = 27; c) life-history stage, d) UAS size, and e) engine type).

Distance (m) with 95% CrI (S2 Table) at which animals show an active response during hobby (Radio-controlled vehicles) flights (Model 5; N = 21; f) life-history stage and g) level of aggregation).