Evaluating drone-mounted thermal infrared sensors for macropod monitoring in Tasmania

Thermal drones offer significant advantages for monitoring wildlife in low-light conditions; however, detection performance is influenced by technical settings and environmental factors. This study evaluates the use of nocturnal drone surveys to detect macropods in Tasmania, with the aim of determining optimal flight parameters for balancing detection accuracy and survey efficiency. Field surveys were conducted in Narawntapu National Park using varying flight altitudes and image overlap settings, and detection rates were compared across thermal datasets. Manual annotations and basic thresholding method were used to quantify detection success. Results showed that detection rates were highest when surveys were conducted under cooler ambient temperatures and at moderate altitudes (e.g. 60 metres AGL) with 50% image overlap. These findings provide practical guidance for designing nocturnal drone surveys and offers baseline recommendations for using drone-mounted thermal sensors to monitor large-bodied, crepuscular mammals, with broader implications for scalable wildlife monitoring programs.