Andrew H. Raedeke

Missouri Department of Conservation, 3500 East Gans Road, Columbia, MO 65201

Nonbreeding Waterfowl Behavioral Response to Crewed and Uncrewed Aerial Surveys on Conservation Areas in Missouri

SEAFWA Journal Volume 11, March 2024

Monitoring waterfowl populations provides the basis for improving habitat quantity and quality, establishing harvest regulations, and ensuring sustainable waterfowl populations through appropriate management. Waterfowl biologists currently use a variety of population and habitat monitoring methods ranging from informal ground observations to low-level occupied aircraft surveys. Unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) may provide safer and more precise alternatives to traditional aerial survey techniques that are less disturbing to waterfowl, but there is limited information on how waterfowl in...