DOI: 10.5061/dryad.c866t1gjb
title: Data and code from: Elephant habituation to drones as a behavioural observation tool

description: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, known as UAVs or drones, are increasingly
 important as a tool in wildlife research and conservation. However, it is
 crucial to quantify as well as qualify the response of target species to
 drones. We measured the reaction of African savannah elephants (Loxodonta
 africana) to an off-the-shelf quadcopter drone during sequences of
 repeated trials. In total, we conducted 35 trials involving 14 distinct
 and individually identified elephant groups, exposing them to the drone on
 up to four separate occasions. Only half of trials recorded any evidence
 of disturbed behaviour, and there was a consistent reduction in the
 proportion of elephants appearing disturbed over the course of a single
 exposure as well as over the course of successive exposures. Nonetheless,
 some small-scale changes in activity patterns were observed even after
 repeated trials. Our results show that elephants can habituate to drones,
 especially when they are flown to minimise disturbance. This suggests that
 drones can be used as a non-invasive technology to monitor elephant
 behaviour, provided that baseline activity patterns are recorded and
 quantified prior to drone exposure.
description: All code is located in the annotated *habituation.R* file. All .csv
 datasets ( *normal_behavior.csv*, *coding_file.csv*,
 *disturbed_behavior.csv*, *flight_data.csv* ) are loaded and merged within
 this file. Missing or absent data are denoted as blank cells. **Coding
 File** *(coding_file.csv)* * *file_name:* Name of video file * *Video_ID:*
 Randomized ID for blind behavior coding **Normal Behavior**
 *(normal_behavior.csv)* * *Video_ID:* Randomized video ID (from coding
 file) * *Time:* Timestamp of observation (10s interval) *
 *Total_Elephants:* Total number of elephants present in video * *Feeding:*
 Number of elephants observed feeding * *Walking:* Number of elephants
 observed walking * *WWF:* Number of elephants observed walking while
 feeding * *Resting:* Number of elephants observed resting * *Drinking:*
 Number of elephants observed drinking * *Wallowing:* Number of elephants
 observed wallowing * *Dusting:* Number of elephants observed dusting *
 *Social_Interaction:* Number of elephants observed interacting *
 *Behaviour_Unknown:* Number of elephants observed exibiting other
 behaviors * *Comments:* Description of unknown behavior and other
 observations **Disturbed Behavior** *(disturbed_behavior.csv)* *
 *Video_ID:* Randomized video ID (from coding file) * *Time:* Not used for
 disturbed behavior (total counts per clip) * *Total_Elephants:* Total
 number of elephants present in video * *Running:* Number of elephants
 observed running * *Trunk Up:* Number of elephants observed raising their
 trunk * *Head Up:* Number of elephants observed raising their head * *Head
 Shake:* Number of elephants observed shaking their head * *Tail Up:*
 Number of elephants observed raising their tail * *Tusking:* Number of
 elephants observed tusking the ground * *Trashing:* Number of elephants
 observed trashing bushes and surroundings * *Bunching:* Number of
 elephants observed bunching together * *Comments:* Comments and other
 observations **Flight Data** *(flight_data.csv)* * *ID:* Equivalent to row
 number * *log_ID:* Unique identifier for each drone flight (YYMMDD_F#) *
 *date_:* Date of flight (DD/MM/YY) * *total_flights:* Total number of
 flights per observation * *flight_num:* Number of this flight in
 observation sequence * *loc:* Location (SNR = Samburu, BSNR = Buffalo
 Springs) * *flight_type:* Type of drone flight (all habituation) *
 *group_name:* Name of elephant group being observed * *Status:* Group
 status (resident, migrant, or sporadic) * *group_id:* Unique identifier
 for each group * *trial_no:* Number of exposures with this group *
 *group_size:* Total number of elephants in this group *
 *no_adult_females:* Number of adult females in group * *no_calves:* Number
 of calves in group * *no_bulls:* Number of bulls in group * *adult_id:*
 Unique identifiers of adult individuals * *ri_arrive:* Reaction index on
 arrival (1-4) * *temp:* Temperature (celcius) * *wind_speed:* Wind Speed
 (kph) * *wind_direction:* Wind Direction (degrees) * *behav_prior:*
 Behavior of elephants prior to exposure * *pre_exp_start:* Time start of
 pre-exposure period * *pre_exp_end:* Time stop of pre-exposure period *
 *drone_up:* Time of drone launch * *exp_start:* Time start of exposure
 period * *exp_end:* Time stop of exposure period * *ext_beh:* Extended
 behavioral study (Y/N) * *drone_dep:* Time of drone leaving group *
 *drone_land:* Time of drone landing * *post_exp_start:* Time start of
 post-exposure period * *post_exp_end:* Time stop of post-exposure period *
 *obs_length:* Length of observation (mins) * *exp_assess:* Assessment
 (Non-reactive, reactive, or highly-reactive) * *next_step:* Advosed next
 step * *id_scan:* ID scans conducted (Y/N) * *footage_ann:* Footage
 annotated with IDs (Y/N) * *footage_id:* Footage IDs * *footage_comm:*
 Footage comments * *drone_comm:* Comments on drone operation *
 *behav_comm:* Comments on elephant behavior * *GID:* Revised group ID
 variable * *TN:* Revised trial number variable