USE OF MODERN INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY FOR WILDLIFE POPULATION SURVEYS

A commercially available thermal-infrared scanning system was used to survey populations of several wildlife species. The system's ability t o detect species of different sizes in varying habitats relative to co nventional survey methods, to differentiate between species in the sam e habitat, and the influence of environmental factors on operational a spects of employing this technology in the field were evaluated. Total costs for the surveys were approximately $0.36/ha. There were marked discrepancies in the counts of untrained observers and those from trai ned analysts. Computer-assisted analysis of infrared imagery recorded 52% fewer deer than were estimated from drive counts, and densities of moose were five times those estimated from conventional aerial method s. By flying concentric circles and using telephoto, detailed counts o f turkeys and deer were possible. With the aid of computer-assisted an alysis, infrared thermography may become a useful wildlife population survey tool. More research is needed to verify the actual efficiency o f detection by combining aerial scans with ground truthing for a varie ty of species and habitats.