부산대학교 도서관

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have the potential to collect high-resolution photographs of marine mammals for life-history studies without disturbing the species being studied. We conducted a pilot study near Igloolik, Nunavut, in early July 2013 to collect identification-quality photographs of bowhead whales and record the responses of the whales to overflights by an UAS. Operating under a restrictive line-of-sight permit from Transport Canada, we successfully collected high quality photographs of bowhead whales and none of the whales overflown responded to the overflights in an observable manner. If the UAS were operated under a beyond-line-of-sight permit, the UAS could be used to search for whales ahead of and to the side of the survey vessels making it more efficient to find whales to photograph. Even when operating under the restrictive line-of-sight permit, large numbers of whales could be photographed, which would provide important life-history information on the poorly studied Eastern Canada - West Greenland population. Key words: bowhead whales, disturbance, photo-identification, unmanned aerial system, line-of-sight. Les systemes aeriens sans pilote (UAS) peuvent recueillir des photographies de haute resolution de mammiferes marins, aux fins d'etudes sur les cycles biologiques, sans pour autant deranger les especes a l' etude. On a mene une etude pilote pres d'Igloolik, au Nunavut, au debut de juillet 2013 pour recueillir des photographies d'une qualite permettant l'identification des baleines boreales et pour consigner les reactions des baleines a des survols d'un UAS. Utilisant un UAS en vertu d'un permis de visibilite directe restrictive de Transport Canada, on a recueilli des photographies de haute qualite de baleines boreales, et aucune des baleines que l'UAS a survolees n'y a reagi de maniere observable. Si l'UAS etait utilise en vertu d'un permis au-dela de la visibilite directe, celui-ci pourrait servir a chercher les baleines en avant et a cote des navires hydrographiques, ce qui rendrait la tache de reperer des baleines a photographier plus efficace. Meme en utilisant un UAS en vertu d'un permis de visibilite directe restrictive, il serait possible de photographier un grand nombre de baleines, ce qui apporterait des informations importantes sur le cycle biologique de la population de l'Est du Canada et de l'Ouest du Groenland, population peu etudiee. Mots-cles : baleines boreales, derangement, identification photographique, systeme aerien sans pilote, visibilite directe.
Introduction Two populations of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) are hunted for subsistence: the Eastern Canada-West Greenland population and the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort population. Both populations are also of interest because of declining [...]