Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, are fast becoming a popular tool for studying marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, and dugongs. But little is known about how these vehicles are affecting their study subjects.
New research suggests drones can stress bottlenose dolphins and cause them to change their behavior. Ticiana Fettermann, a marine biologist at the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand and lead author of the study, says drones should be flown at least 25 meters above the ocean’s surface as a precaution against disturbing dolphins …
Hakai Magazine | Nov. 6, 2019
