DUST: a framework for quantifying dugong-seagrass interactions using low-cost UAVs

Seagrass ecosystems are crucial to global environmental health, food security, and provide ecosystem services such as CO2 sequestration, environmental buffering and biodiversity maintenance. Dugongs are large marine mammals primarily found in the Indo-Pacific region that rely on seagrass meadows as their primary food source. Their feeding activity helps maintain seagrass ecosystems. Dugong populations have been declining due to habitat loss, pollution and human activities. Despite their importance, research on dugong-seagrass interactions is limited due to the logistical challenges of traditional field methods and coarser resolution-related difficulties faced with satellite imagery. This study explores the use of low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to overcome these challenges. UAVs provide high-resolution imagery and data collection in otherwise inaccessible areas, offering a more flexible, cost-effective and accurate method for monitoring seagrass extent and dugong behavior. Although there have been a few UAV-based studies exploring dugong-seagrass interactions in the past, no standard, easy-to-implement work plans are available. We propose a user-friendly, standardized approach – the Dugong UAV Seagrass Tracking (DUST) framework – for studying dugong-seagrass interactions using low-cost UAVs. Our priority is to uphold simplicity and make seagrass-dugong surveys accessible for community-based conservation projects in resource-limited regions. This framework is informed by the insights, applications, gaps and challenges identified through a review of literature and 1:1 meetings with experts in the field. By building on past and ongoing efforts, this straightforward approach aims to inform community-based marine wildlife conservation strategies and deepen our understanding of complex interactions between marine megafauna and vital coastal ecosystems.