YOLO: A FUSION APPROACH TO GEOLOCATING NATURAL RESOURCES
Advancing near real-time AI and drone technology to improve wildlife monitoring and conservation in hard-to-reach landscapes.
Golden Eagle Nest Site Selection
Where along a cliffside golden eagles choose to construct a nest has been shown to be influenced by several factors including aspect, slope, height, exposure to solar radiation, and distance to other nests. Specifically, exposure to excessive solar radiation is thought to be especially detrimental to golden eagle nestling survival. While studies have quantified average nesting site characteristics, no studies have analyzed nest site selection in a use-availability framework to directly compare these characteristics to ledges that are available, but unused.
Using LiDAR data acquired during UAS flights, we are able to gather centimeter level information on the ledges used by golden eagles as well as ledges that could be used, but are not. We will be comparing the characteristics of used and unused ledges to better quantify what is influencing these decisions. Additionally, the fine-scale characterization of cliff features will allow us to include features such as vertical and horizontal exposure.
We will also be quantifying how these features impact the frequency of nest site use and the nesting success to better understand how nest site characteristics impact all aspects of breeding ecology and success.
3D maps of nesting territory with all historical nest geolocated using the YOLO computer vision model from the model development site in southern Idaho.