Efficacy of avian radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of a large international airport
ABSTRACT Avian radar technologies have the potential to serve an important role in the quantification of bird movements and determining patterns of bird use in areas where human–wildlife conflicts might occur (e.g., airports, wind‐energy facilities). However, capabilities and limitations of these te...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.910 |
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| author | Adam C. Phillips Siddhartha Majumdar Brian E. Washburn David Mayer Ryan M. Swearingin Edwin E. Herricks Travis L. Guerrant Scott F. Beckerman Craig K. Pullins |
| author_facet | Adam C. Phillips Siddhartha Majumdar Brian E. Washburn David Mayer Ryan M. Swearingin Edwin E. Herricks Travis L. Guerrant Scott F. Beckerman Craig K. Pullins |
| author_sort | Adam C. Phillips |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Avian radar technologies have the potential to serve an important role in the quantification of bird movements and determining patterns of bird use in areas where human–wildlife conflicts might occur (e.g., airports, wind‐energy facilities). However, capabilities and limitations of these technologies are relatively unknown and ground‐truthing studies are needed to help wildlife managers understand the biological meaning of radar information. We evaluated the efficacy of 3 X‐band marine radar sensors for tracking birds and flocks of birds observed on the airfield at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, USA, during March 2011–November 2012. We used specific information regarding field observations of birds or flocks to determine how frequently the 3 radar sensors provided corresponding tracks of these avian targets. In addition, we examined various factors to determine if they had any influence on the frequency of correspondence between visual observations and radar tracks. Of the 972 sightings of individual birds (49%) or flocks of birds (51%) by observers on the airfield that had the potential to be observed by the radar, 143 (15%) were tracked by ≥1 radar sensor. All confirmed tracks of individual birds or flocks were ≤4.8 km from these radars. Among the 3 radar sensors, larger bodied bird species, bird/flocks flying at higher altitudes, and bird/flocks closer to the radars increased the ability of those units to track avian targets. This study provides new information regarding the performance of radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8b7a3929902e4e708cd295b0b77a3afa |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2328-5540 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| spelling | doaj-art-8b7a3929902e4e708cd295b0b77a3afa2025-08-20T01:57:49ZengWileyWildlife Society Bulletin2328-55402018-09-0142346747710.1002/wsb.910Efficacy of avian radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of a large international airportAdam C. Phillips0Siddhartha Majumdar1Brian E. Washburn2David Mayer3Ryan M. Swearingin4Edwin E. Herricks5Travis L. Guerrant6Scott F. Beckerman7Craig K. Pullins8U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceWildlife Services3430 Constitution Drive, Suite 121SpringfieldIL62711USAUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign205 N Mathews AvenueUrbanaIL61801USAU.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife ServicesNational Wildlife Research Center6100 Columbus AvenueSanduskyOH44870USAUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign205 N Mathews AvenueUrbanaIL61801USAU.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceWildlife Services3430 Constitution Drive, Suite 121SpringfieldIL62711USAUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign205 N Mathews AvenueUrbanaIL61801USAU.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceWildlife Services3430 Constitution Drive, Suite 121SpringfieldIL62711USAU.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceWildlife Services3430 Constitution Drive, Suite 121SpringfieldIL62711USAU.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceWildlife ServicesO'Hare International AirportAMC Building, Room 421ChicagoIL60666USAABSTRACT Avian radar technologies have the potential to serve an important role in the quantification of bird movements and determining patterns of bird use in areas where human–wildlife conflicts might occur (e.g., airports, wind‐energy facilities). However, capabilities and limitations of these technologies are relatively unknown and ground‐truthing studies are needed to help wildlife managers understand the biological meaning of radar information. We evaluated the efficacy of 3 X‐band marine radar sensors for tracking birds and flocks of birds observed on the airfield at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, USA, during March 2011–November 2012. We used specific information regarding field observations of birds or flocks to determine how frequently the 3 radar sensors provided corresponding tracks of these avian targets. In addition, we examined various factors to determine if they had any influence on the frequency of correspondence between visual observations and radar tracks. Of the 972 sightings of individual birds (49%) or flocks of birds (51%) by observers on the airfield that had the potential to be observed by the radar, 143 (15%) were tracked by ≥1 radar sensor. All confirmed tracks of individual birds or flocks were ≤4.8 km from these radars. Among the 3 radar sensors, larger bodied bird species, bird/flocks flying at higher altitudes, and bird/flocks closer to the radars increased the ability of those units to track avian targets. This study provides new information regarding the performance of radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.910airportsairport wildlife managementavian radar systemsbirdshuman–wildlife conflictswildlife strikes |
| spellingShingle | Adam C. Phillips Siddhartha Majumdar Brian E. Washburn David Mayer Ryan M. Swearingin Edwin E. Herricks Travis L. Guerrant Scott F. Beckerman Craig K. Pullins Efficacy of avian radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of a large international airport Wildlife Society Bulletin airports airport wildlife management avian radar systems birds human–wildlife conflicts wildlife strikes |
| title | Efficacy of avian radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of a large international airport |
| title_full | Efficacy of avian radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of a large international airport |
| title_fullStr | Efficacy of avian radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of a large international airport |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficacy of avian radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of a large international airport |
| title_short | Efficacy of avian radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of a large international airport |
| title_sort | efficacy of avian radar systems for tracking birds on the airfield of a large international airport |
| topic | airports airport wildlife management avian radar systems birds human–wildlife conflicts wildlife strikes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.910 |
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