Unoccupied aerial vehicles as a tool to map lizard operative temperature in tropical environments

  • Higgins, Emma (CoI)
  • Algar, Adam C. (CoI)
  • Voyd, Doreen (CoI)
  • Van der Heijden, Geertje (CoI)
  • Brown, Tom W. (CoI)
  • Owen, Sarah C. (CoI)

Project Details

Description

Understanding ectotherm responses to warming requires fine-scale thermal habitat data relevant to the organism. Traditional methods, like ground-based 3D operative temperature (Te) replicas or microclimate models, are limited in spatial extent or rely on downscaled climate data. We tested the use of unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) optical data (RGB) to predict sub-canopy Te for the critically endangered Anolis bicaorum in tropical forests.

Key findings

Random forest models showed that air temperature and UAV-derived canopy metrics outperformed ground-based measurements, enabling high-resolution mapping of Te across continuous areas. This approach provides a scalable workflow to map Te at organism-relevant spatial scales, essential for assessing habitat quality and risks from land cover and climate change.

Our findings have broader applications for species with similar thermal niches and offer critical insights for conservation efforts in rapidly changing environments
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/01/1931/12/24