Revista de Biología Tropical, ISSN: 2215-2075, Vol. 69(2): 000-000, April-June 2021 (Published Apr. 01, 2021)

Unmanned aerial vehicle, and GIS tools, to monitor the reproduction of the

flamingo Phoenicopterus chilensis (Aves: Phoenicopteridae)

César R. Luque-Fernández

*; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8050-461X

Kenny Caballero

; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4487-3068

Gregory Anthony Pauca

; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6367-5345

Luis Villegas

; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7605-4326

Ibai Alcelay

; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5512-5025

John Machaca

; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4901-7738

1. Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa, Perú; cluquef@unsa.edu.pe (*Correspondence),

gpaucat@unsa.edu.pe, alcelaybai@gmail.com

2. Centro de Estudios y Promoción del Desarrollo del Sur (DESCOSUR), Arequipa, Perú; kenny@descosur.org.pe

3. Escuela de Posgrado, Universidad Católica de Santa María, Arequipa, Perú; lvillegasp@unsa.edu.pe

4. Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca (RNSyAB), Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el

Estado (SERNANP), Arequipa, Perú; jmachaca@sernanp.gob.pe

Received 11-II-2021. Corrected 11-V-2021. Accepted 10-VI-2021.

Abstract. Introduction: High Andean flamingos also known as parihuanas, are species of recurrent presence

in the high Andean areas which find this area as an important resting, feeding and in some cases breeding area

The species recorded here correspond to Phoenicoparrus jamesi, Phoenicoparrus andinus and Phoenicopterus

chilensis, the latter being the most abundant and common. During the censuses performed during 2018 and 2019,

in the high Andean lake of Salinas, Ramsar site, located within the Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca

in Southern Peru, atypical behaviors of these birds were recorded in a sector of the lake, observing reproductive

courtship and the settlement of colonies of P. chilensis. Objective: The study aimed to confirm and evaluate

reproductive events of P. chilenesis (Chilean flamingo) through the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

and image processing tools using geographic information systems. Methodology: Monitoring was conducted

during 2018 and 2019 to breeding colonies of P. chilensis, we used a UAV Phantom 4 testing different flight

altitudes to avoid disturbing the birds and performed records of aerial photographs and GIS post-processing with

the creation of panchromatic images for the identification and counting of individuals and eggs automated, and

manual verification. Results: During 2018 were identified nests and presence of six eggs, this occurred between

March and June where the event was interrupted not observing chicks or juveniles during this period, for 2019

the breeding was more successful, where a higher number of eggs were counted (40-66) and with the formation

of three reproductive colonies with 4 185 adult individuals, also verified the presence of chicks and juveniles that

reached a maximum of 1 491 individuals. Conclusions: We confirmed two continuous reproductive events of P.

chilensis in the Salinas lake, where during 2019 was the most successful incorporating several new individuals to

the initial population, likewise the methodology applied in the image processing allowed differentiating between

adult individuals and eggs but did not allow differentiating juveniles, however, the images directly acquired by

the UAV allow distinguishing the types of individuals to perform a manual count.

Key words: parihuana; nesting; breeding; remote sensing; drone.

Luque-Fernández, C.R., Caballero, K., Pauca, G.A., Villegas, L.,

Alcelay, I., & Machaca, J. (2021). Unmanned aerial vehicle,

and GIS tools, to monitor the reproduction of the flamingo

Phoenicopterus chilensis (Aves: Phoenicopteridae). Revista

de Biología Tropical, 69(2), 000-000. https://doi.org/

https://doi.org/10.0000000000000000000

Revista de Biología Tropical, ISSN: 2215-2075 Vol. 69(2): 000-000, April-June 2021 (Published Apr. 01, 2021)

High Andean flamingos, parinas or pari-

huanas (Phoenicopteridae), are birds with a

distinctive plumage color, ranging from shades

of pink and purple to salmon, currently there

are six species distributed in America, Africa

and Eurasia (Mendoza et al., 2013). Flamingos

are gregarious and long-lived birds that inhabit

mostly hypersaline, salty and shallow aquatic

environments, and can be found from sea level

to above 5 000 m.a.s.l. They are birds highly

specialized in plankton feeding, usually prefer

lakes or lagoons with a high concentration of

salts and food, in which they often use also for

breeding (Hurlbert & Keith, 1979; Martínez &

González, 2017; Winkler et al., 2020). Three

species are currently reported in Peru and

are typical of the Andean Altiplano of South

America: Jame’s Flamingo or puna parihuana

(Phoenicoparrus jamesi), Andean Flamingo or

Andean parihuana (Phoenicoparrus andinus)

and Chilean Flamingo or common parihuana

(Phoenicopterus chilensis); being P. chilensis

the most widespread, distributing from North

to South of Peru and classified as a common

and resident species (Hurlbert & Keith, 1979;

Schulenberg et al., 2010). Flamingo popula-

tions are vulnerable due to the fragility of the

habitats they reside in, in addition to other

threats such as predation risk and anthro-

pogenic disturbances, which also condition

their abundance and distribution (Barisón et

al., 2014). The current conservation status of

the Chilean flamingo is “Near Threatened”

by the IUCN (BirdLife International, 2018),

also included in CITES Appendix II, and by

national categorization as by the Peruvian

State as “Near Threatened” (Supreme Decree

N-004-2014-MINAGRI).

The largest populations of Chilean fla-

mingo are found in Argentina, Bolivia and

Chile, especially in the reproductive season

(Caziani et al., 2007), however in Peru there are

few reports about these events or nidification

sites (Ugarte-Núñez & Mosaurieta-Echegaray,

2000; Rodríguez, 2005) and have been little

studied and monitored. With the development

of new technologies and their low costs, a

change in research methodologies is occurring

(Grémillet et al., 2012). For example, the

case of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are

becoming more and more common (Borrelle

& Fletcher, 2017), especially in ornithologi-

cal studies (Chabot et al., 2015; Dulava et al.,

2015; McClelland et al., 2016) and specifically

in the case of flamingos (Vas et al., 2015), it has

been concluded that they do not produce signif-

icant disturbances in their populations, offering

greater efficiency in the observation of indi-

viduals in incubation and juveniles, accounting

in general terms a greater number of individu-

als compared to observations made from land

(Sabella et al., 2017; Vas et al., 2015).

This research aims to evaluate the unusual

reproductive events recorded in the popula-

tion of the P. chilensis in the high Andean

lake of Salinas, in a protected natural area in

Southern Peru, which had not been previously

reported as an active breeding site of this spe-

cies for more than 20 years. Additionally, we

incorporated the monitoring of these events

with the use of an unmanned vehicle (UAV)

and developed a methodology for the process-

ing and quantification of individuals and the

detection of eggs through the implementation

of GIS tools.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study site: The study area corresponds to

Salinas lake, a high Andean Salt Lake, which

has been recognized as a Ramsar site since

2003. Politically it is located between Areq-

uipa and Moquegua regions, in Southern Peru,

that adjacent to three peasant communities

(Salinas Huito, Salinas Moche and Santa Lucia

de Salinas); within the Reserva Nacional de

Salinas y Aguada Blanca (RNSyAB), which is

under the management of the Servicio Nacional

de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado

(SERNANP). This wetland is located in an

endorheic basin, supplied mainly by rainwater,

at an altitude of 4 300 m.a.s.l., it covers an area

of 6 182 ha and it is surrounded by a large area

of hydrophytic vegetation (bofedales). In addi-

tion, the lake is the site of economic activities

such as boron salt extraction by the INKABOR

Revista de Biología Tropical, ISSN: 2215-2075, Vol. 69(2): 000-000, April-June 2021 (Published Apr. 01, 2021)

mining company, salt extraction, and grazing

of domestic South American camelids (alpacas

and llamas) by residents of rural communities.

Monitoring colonies of Chilean flamin-

gos: As a background to this research, since

2012, joint monitoring has been carried out in

the Salinas lake by the participating entities

(SERNANP, DESCO and the INKABOR Com-

pany), to know the population dynamics of the

water birds in this lake. But, during the moni-

toring surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019,

unusual behaviors were recorded in the Chil-

ean Flamingo population, where reproductive

rituals were exhibited by a large group of these

animals (in both years starting in February),

resulted in the establishment of three closely

spaced colonies in the Northeastern sector of

the lake (16°22’7.30” S & 71°8’32.98” W),

which were evaluated for this research (Fig. 1).

In addition, although two other species of fla-

mingos (Phoenicoparrus jamesi, Phoenicopar-

rus andinus) also occur in the study area, they

were not present in the breeding colonies

evaluated in any years.

Instruments and evaluation parame-

ters: The observation and monitoring of the

reproductive colonies of the Chilean flamin-

go were performed with aerial shots from

an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Phamton

4 Advance, white color, with an integrated

20-megapixel camera.

To establish the UAV flight parameters,

the methodology used by Vas et al. (2015) was

used as a reference, to avoid or reduce pos-

sible disturbances caused by the UAV during

the flight. Overflights of 30 min were made in

the direction of the identified colonies, being

the height of the initial flight 100 m with a

displacement of 6 m/s. Once the location of the

flamingo’s colony was located, a slow descent

was made over the colony with pauses every

10 m, to verify any disturbance was caused in

the overflown colonies; the approach limit was

never less than 30 m in height, at this height the

Fig. 1. Location of the evaluation sector of the Chilean Flamingo colonies (black star) in Salinas Lake, Arequipa, Peru.

Revista de Biología Tropical, ISSN: 2215-2075 Vol. 69(2): 000-000, April-June 2021 (Published Apr. 01, 2021)

birds showed stress behaviors. Once the proper

height of the UAV was established, we pro-

ceeded to take the photo sequences (JPEG and

RAW), as well as short videos for subsequent

analysis. The UAV flights were made between

09:00 and 12:00 h., to avoid or reduce shadows

in the photographs and reduce bias when ana-

lyzing the images. Moreover, later at this time,

the wind speed increases in the study area, put-

ting at risk the flight of the UAV.

Image processing: The UAV photographs

were processed and analyzed with ArcGis 10.3

software. Initially, the images were georefer-

enced and sorted to obtain an RGB orthophoto

of each colony. Subsequently, each orthophoto

was analyzed for principal components to

obtain a panchromatic image, which using a

pixel value analysis, the range of values cover-

ing flamingos and eggs was selected. Once the

“pixel values” were identified, the program

was instructed to classify the panchromatic

image based on the values obtained, using the

reclassification tool.

The result was then converted into a shape-

file (*.shp), and the table of attributes was

exported to an Excel sheet to make the respec-

tive postings. Once the images and final values

were obtained, Chilean flamingo individuals

and eggs were quantified. In addition, veri-

fication was performed by manual count on

the photographs, to establish the number of

individuals and the presence of observable

nests and eggs.

RESULTS

Reproductive events of Chilean fla-

mingo: In 2018, the reproductive event of P.

chilensis was confirmed between March and

June (transitional season between wet and dry

seasons), observing a single nesting colony

(16°21’26.47”S & 71°7’46.62”W), with an

extension of 689 m

. In the evaluation by the

end of March with the UAV images, 06 nests

with eggs and 462 adult individuals in incuba-

tion positions could be differentiated (Fig. 2).

The ideal altitude of approximation without

disturbing the flamingo colony was 30 m. By

April and early June, according to observations

at the site, the individuals of the colony were

dispersing throughout the lake, apparently, the

Fig. 2. Evaluation image of 2018 for Chilean flamingo nesting event in Laguna de Salinas, showing original photo and

RGB image processing acquired with UAV (Phamton 4), where: red polygons - adult individuals; green dots - nest with egg.

Revista de Biología Tropical, ISSN: 2215-2075, Vol. 69(2): 000-000, April-June 2021 (Published Apr. 01, 2021)

nesting attempt was unsatisfactory, since no

flamingo chicks were observed at the end of

this evaluation.

In 2019, the first evaluation with the UAV

was carried out in July, where three active

nesting colonies were observed (Colony 1:

250 m

, Colony 2: 843 m

and Colony 3: 530

), observing a total of 4 185 adult individu-

als in the three colonies, where around 40 %

were incubating (Fig. 3A); it was also pos-

sible to identify 40 eggs in the three colonies,

which were correctly determined by both the

remote sensing method and the visual verifica-

tion method. Also, 973 juvenile individuals of

Chilean flamingo were counted (juveniles and

chicks were considered), this was done only

manually, being the best method for quan-

tifying these individuals because the image

classification showed a high error rate. The

ideal altitude of approximation without caus-

ing disturbance to the flamingo colony was

40 m above them. At the beginning of August

Fig. 3. Panoramic photos of the nesting event during 2019 from UAV. A. Nesting colonies in July; B. Nesting colonies at

the beginning of August; C. Final assessment of late August; D. Detail of nests and adult individuals in the central part,

juveniles (gray) around the colony; E. Colony 1 during August 2019 showing the location of identified eggs (green rings).

Revista de Biología Tropical, ISSN: 2215-2075 Vol. 69(2): 000-000, April-June 2021 (Published Apr. 01, 2021)

(Fig. 3B), 1 094 adults were counted in the

nesting colonies, where 80 % were incubating;

a notable increase was observed in the number

of juveniles, 1 425 individuals, almost double

the number reported in July; and 66 eggs were

also identified (Fig. 3E), confirming the conti-

nuity of the reproductive event.

Due to the presence of juveniles with dif-

ferent plumage and sizes, for this evaluation,

the flight parameter with the UAV was modi-

fied, establishing a height of 50 m above the

ground, since, at a lower height, juvenile and

adult individuals began showing signs of stress,

which did not occur in the previous evaluation

in July. The behavior observed was that juve-

niles began to aggregate and move between the

colonies, and some adults (“bird-sitter”) began

flapping continuously and trying to guide the

juveniles (Luque-Fernández, 2021; https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=152Pmp9PxFc).

By the end of August, a decrease in the

number of adult individuals was observed in the

nesting colonies (488 individuals) compared to

the previous months; the number of juveniles

increased slightly over the previous evaluation

(Fig. 3C). Eggs could not be observed or iden-

tified in this evaluation, although some adult

individuals continued in the incubation posi-

tion, which could be confirmed by the photos

and videos recorded. Likewise, it was possible

to observe in more detail the nests used by the

Chilean flamingos (Fig. 3D). In this evaluation,

several individuals (juveniles) were sighted in

different locations of Salinas lake and bofe-

dales. The flight parameter for this evaluation

was a 60 m height above the colonies.

A consistent fluctuation was observed

between the values of adult and juvenile indi-

viduals over time, as the number of adult indi-

viduals incubating decreased, with an inverse

relationship to the number of juveniles that

appeared (Table 1), where could be estimated

an increase of more than 1 500 new individuals

to the population of Chilean flamingo to Salinas

lake and its general population, which added to

ongoing evaluations show the site as ideal for

successful reproductive events as reported.

DISCUSSION

About nesting event of Chilean flamingo

population, results confirm satisfactory repro-

ductive events of the Chilean flamingo in a

Salinas lake sector, during 2018 and 2019.

These would be the first documented records

of this species reproduction in this high Andean

wetland, after almost 20 years, despite that

reported the existence of nesting areas (Ugarte-

Núñez & Mosaurieta-Echegaray, 2000), but

without mentioning that they were active.

Until 2005, for the entire distribution range

of the P. chilensis, a total of 17 reproduction

TABLE 1. Number of individuals (adults and juveniles) and eggs for each evaluation

during 2019 in Salinas Lake, Arequipa, Peru

Date Colony

Adults

Juvenile Eggs

Standing Sitting

14/07/2019 1 386 153 340 15

2 1 181 918 117 13

3 992 555 516 12

Total

2 559 1 626 973 40

11/08/2019 1 22 11 404 20

2 130 561 570 40

3 44 326 451 6

Total

196 898 1 425 66

30/08/2019 1 72 17 655 0

2 198 61 490 0

3 112 28 346 0

Total

382 106 1 491 0

Revista de Biología Tropical, ISSN: 2215-2075, Vol. 69(2): 000-000, April-June 2021 (Published Apr. 01, 2021)

sites had been identified in Puna areas (Rodrí-

guez, 2005), reporting a single site for Peru in

Junín Lake (Junín), during the 70s and 80s.

Later, for this area, reproduction reports were

also made between 2003 and 2008 (Asociación

Ecosistemas Andinos, 2010) and more recently

there have been events recorded in the Ite

wetland (Tacna) on the South coast (Vizcarra,

2014). These reports, in addition to this study,

could change the classification of the Chilean

flamingo, as a reproductive visitor in Peru

(Schulenberg et al., 2010).

Regarding the number of new individuals

of Chilean flamingo added to the population,

this event would represent the largest record

reported for Peru (Asociación Ecosistemas

Andinos, 2010), where it is estimated that

in 2019 around 1 500 individuals were born.

These values are higher than those recorded for

Chile, which has eight nesting sites out of the

17 reported (Rodríguez, 2005), where no more

than 1 250 individuals had been registered in

each one during a single reproduction event,

except for Surire Salar locality where 7 500

individuals were recorded.

The chronology of the reproductive event

observed in Salinas lake, agrees with the lit-

erature (Rodríguez, 2005), where copulation

usually occurs during May, and a large amount

of egg is laid during June and July, and disper-

sion of the new individuals occurs at the end of

August. In addition to this, it has not been ruled

the possibility of consecutive egg-laying events

having a place, which would respond to the

good site conditions (Henriksen et al., 2015;

Krienitz et al., 2016; Martínez & González,

2017; Polla et al., 2018).

The analysis of the images obtained

through the UAV allowed to identify cor-

rectly and estimate the number of individuals

and eggs, the methodology that has been little

explored (Hodgson et al., 2016; Hodgson et al.,

2018; Lyons et al., 2019). The transformation

of the RGB images acquired by the UAV into

panchromatic images, through the use of GIS

tools, makes it possible to isolate the object

of study from the rest of the visual informa-

tion, facilitating its subsequent quantification,

both automatic and manual (Lyons et al.,

2019), however, it is emphasized that the data

referring to the eggs counted resulted from

an underestimation of the real total, which

depends on multiple factors. For this, it is ideal

to obtain images with good lighting, as well as

several photographic sweeps, since the indi-

viduals can stand up and leave the nest eggs

in sight. Therefore, the proposed methodology

in this study is presented as highly reliable,

allowing the results of monitoring by direct

observation in the field to be consolidated, as

well as, the possibility to keep a file of the

studied population dynamics over time (Jones

et al., 2010; Lyons et al., 2019).

Regarding the effects caused by the UAV

in the study population, in the experiments car-

ried out on common flamingos (Phoenicopter-

us roseus) and other water birds no significant

differences were observed in the response of

individuals to UAV attending to their feeding

and rest behavior, nor an effect after succes-

sive flights (Vas et al., 2015). However, in this

work, it was necessary to modify the approach

distance to the colony during 2019 surveys,

where the minimum approach distance was

higher (30 m). This factor was conditioned by

the increase in the numbers of juvenile indi-

viduals who presented increased stress with

the noise generated by the UAV, which was

recorded in adult individuals with continuous

flapping. This could be explained by the varia-

tions in individual behavior during the repro-

ductive and non-reproductive period (Barisón

et al., 2014; Derlindati et al., 2014) concerning

stress sensitivity caused by the UAV.

Extraction activities have been conducted

in Salinas lake from the 40’s to the present

(salt and borates), activities were considered

as the main disturbances affecting the flamin-

go population (Ugarte-Nuñez & Mosaurieta-

Echegaray, 2000), as well as the installation

of flooded plots, as they negatively affect the

establishment of flamingos and other bird spe-

cies. However, the results of this study show

that these flooded areas present the right condi-

tions to allow the establishment of nesting col-

onies, as they provide some protection against

Revista de Biología Tropical, ISSN: 2215-2075 Vol. 69(2): 000-000, April-June 2021 (Published Apr. 01, 2021)

natural predators, and impede the extraction of

eggs, which was also documented as a major

threat in the area (Ugarte-Núñez & Mosaurieta-

Echegaray, 2000). Therefore, it seems that

the flamingos living in this area have become

habituated to the presence of people, vehicles

and machinery. This would also be favored

by the hydraulic dynamics of the Salinas lake,

since in the monitoring of the water coverage

of this lake for 2019, it arrives at its maximum

capacity and coverage during February and

March, then beginning a reduction where in

September it is 47 % of the total coverage,

during these months the nesting colonies of

Chilean flamingos are benefited by the creation

of an exclusion zone by the areas still flooded

until the end of the reproductive event.

Moreover, the practices to mitigate the

impact of this mining activity, which include

leveling the working areas and participatory

management of this high Andean lake, between

private companies, peasant communities,

NGOs and the Peruvian State, are presented

as successful, by maintaining this ecosystem in

suitable conditions. The final results allow us to

suggest some perspectives on the continuity of

monitoring by SERNANP, in addition, to refine

the methodology for estimating individuals

and incorporate new tools in the UAV. Also, to

tracking individuals born in Salinas by banding

for monitoring for the conservation of the spe-

cies as it is done in Chile and Bolivia.

Finally, the record of active nesting colo-

nies of Chilean flamingos represents a rel-

evant milestone in the conservation of this

RAMSAR wetland (Ramsar, 2017) and the

population of the species, which urges the

main actors involved to continue developing

and implementing complementary actions for

its conservation, within which the inclusion of

management plans is recommended, consider-

ing the identified nesting areas and their conse-

quent monitoring.

Ethical statement: authors declare that

they all agree with this publication and made

significant contributions; that there is no con-

flict of interest of any kind; and that we

followed all pertinent ethical and legal proce-

dures and requirements. All financial sources

are fully and clearly stated in the acknowledge-

ments section. A signed document has been

filed in the journal archives.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank the RNSyAB

management for involving us in this collabora-

tive research, and also Mr. Leopoldo Choque,

official ranger of the RNSyAB for his col-

laboration in fieldwork. We would also thank

INKABOR SAC Company for their support to

perform this study within its work and exploita-

tion area, as well as its good efforts in remedia-

tion and restoration actions in Salinas Lake.

RESUMEN

Vehículos aéreos sin tripulación, y mapeo digital,

para monitorear la reproducción del flamenco,

Phoenicopterus chilensis (Aves: Phoenicopteridae)

Introducción: Los flamencos altoandinos también

conocidos como parihuanas, son especies con presencia

recurrente en las zonas altoandinas, principalmente en

humedales salinos donde suelen arribar para descanso, ali-

mentación y en algunos casos reproducción. Las especies

que se registran aquí corresponden a Phoenicoparrus jame-

si, Phoenicoparrus andinus y Phoenicopterus chilenesis,

siendo esta última la más abundante y común. Durante los

censos desarrollados en 2018 y 2019, en la laguna de Sali-

nas, ubicada en la Reserva Nacional de Salinas y Aguada

Blanca en el sur del Perú, se registraron comportamientos

atípicos de estas aves en un sector del humedal, se observa-

ron cortejos reproductivos y el asentamiento de colonias de

flamencos chilenos. Objetivo: Confirmar y evaluar even-

tos reproductivos de Phoenicopterus chilenesis mediante

la incorporación de un vehículo aéreo no tripulado (UAV)

y herramientas de procesamiento de imágenes mediante

sistemas de información geográfica. Metodología: Se

realizaron censos aéreos durante 2018 y 2019 a colonias

reproductivas del P. chilensis, utilizando un UAV Phantom

4 a diferentes alturas de vuelo para evitar la perturbación

de las colonias de flamencos. Se realizaron registros de

fotografías aéreas y post procesamiento SIG con la crea-

ción de imágenes pancromáticas para la identificación y

conteo de individuos y huevos automatizada, así como la

verificación manual. Resultados: En 2018 se identificaron

nidos y la presencia de seis huevos, entre marzo y junio

donde el evento fue interrumpido, no se observaron pollos

o juveniles durante este periodo. En 2019 la nidificación

Revista de Biología Tropical, ISSN: 2215-2075, Vol. 69(2): 000-000, April-June 2021 (Published Apr. 01, 2021)

tuvo éxito, se contabilizó un mayor número de huevos (40-

66) con la formación de tres colonias reproductivas de 4

185 individuos adultos, se verificó la presencia de pollos y

juveniles que alcanzaron un máximo de 1 491 individuos.

Conclusiones: Se confirman dos eventos reproductivos

continuos de P. chilensis en la laguna Salinas, durante el

2019 incorporando varios nuevos individuos a la pobla-

ción inicial. La metodología aplicada en el tratamiento

de imágenes permitió diferenciar entre individuos adultos

y huevos, pero no permitió diferenciar juveniles, aunque

las imágenes directamente adquiridas por el UAV per-

miten diferenciar los tipos de individuos para realizar un

conteo manual.

Palabras clave: parihuana; nidificación; crianza; telede-

tección; dron.

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