Monitoring Squirrels from the Sky: Applications of Uncrewed Aerial Systems-Based Bioacoustic and Vegetation Monitoring Regimes for Mohave Ground Squirrel
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Authors
Potts, Hannah
Issue Date
2025
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Bioacoustics , Drones , Mohave Ground Squirrel , Monitoring , Remote Sensing , Uncrewed Aerial Systems
Alternative Title
Abstract
This research aimed to better understand the areas occupied by the Mohave ground squirrel (Xerospermophilus mohavensis) through the application of uncrewed aerial systems-based (henceforward UAS or drones) bioacoustic monitoring. The Mohave ground squirrel (MGS) is a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act, and occupies a northwest corner of the Mojave Desert, one of the smallest ranges of any ground squirrel (Hoyt, 1972). Several difficulties have been observed in monitoring MGS populations, most notably the species’ short activity season, its solitary nature, and its small and shifting range (Best, 1995). Chapter one offers a new methodology for ascertaining MGS occupancy by recording MGS alert calls using microphones suspended below UAS. By using audio data of MGS alert calls and convolutional neural networks, this research was able to determine MGS presence based on captured calls towards the goal of supplementing ongoing live and camera trapping. Chapter two captured vegetation information within MGS ranges using UAS-based multiband imagery and developed a random forest vegetation classification model for the study area, allowing for a better understanding of the vegetation that is most common within MGS ranges. In conjunction with on-the-ground camera and live trapping, this research adds drone-based bioacoustic and vegetation monitoring methods that will allow for faster data gathering, a better understanding of the ways in which MGS exist on the landscape, and serve as an important tool in their future conservation.