On a clear day at Phillip Island in Victoria, a drone takes flight, piloted by two individuals in high-visibility gear. The drone heads southwest toward Seal Rocks, home to one of Australia’s largest fur seal colonies. This area also attracts various seabird species and is frequented by migrating whales and dolphins. However, reaching these rocky outcrops can be challenging, and researchers often risk disturbing the wildlife when they attempt to gather data.

Drones are proving to be essential tools in studying seal populations without causing disruption. Adam Yaney-Keller, a PhD candidate at Monash University, is one of the drone operators involved in this research. He has been flying drones for three years and believes they significantly enhance the study of large marine mammals. "A drone allows us to get really up close and personal to animals in a way that we normally wouldn't be able to," Yaney-Keller said. "Drones allow us to research animals with little to no disturbance at all. We are able to fly the drone remotely, go close to the animals and we're able to pull data that's meaningful to study everything from wildlife populations all the way down to how their bodies work. We do still have to do physical captures, but we don't have to do it as often."

The drones are equipped with various monitoring technologies, including thermal sensors, still and video cameras, laser scanners, and sample plates. This equipment enables researchers to track animal behavior, body heat, heart rate, and size. Yaney-Keller noted a significant advancement in using drones to collect samples from whale exhalations, allowing researchers to analyze microbiomes, hormones, genetics, and disease presence.

The use of drones in wildlife research is on the rise. Earlier this year, Yaney-Keller led a review of scientific literature and found that 27 studies utilized drones for wildlife ecophysiology research in 2023, a significant increase from just seven studies in 2018 and one in 2010. Drones have been deployed on every continent to monitor various wildlife, including marine mammals, crocodiles, giraffes, and swans.

Rebecca McIntosh, a senior scientist at Phillip Island Nature Parks, stated that the organization has been using drones to monitor Seal Rocks since 2016. "We used the site and the seals as ecosystem sentinels to give us an idea of how healthy the whole ecosystem is around them," she explained.

At Phillip Island Nature Parks, drones have been employed to monitor bird populations, survey wildlife such as Cape Barren geese, and conduct nocturnal reviews of animal behavior. They have also played a role in conservation efforts, including assessing the impacts of ocean inundation and climate change, as well as mapping invasive weeds. McIntosh expressed hopes for future drone applications in evaluating hard-to-reach habitats like wetlands. "It's really important to use this technology in a place like Phillip Island, because we have so much wildlife here and it's always our goal to move towards techniques that provide less disturbance to those animals," she said.