Abstract
Beaches are economically and socially important to coastal regions. The intensive use of beaches requires active management to mitigate impacts to natural habitats and users. Understanding the patterns of beach use can assist in developing management actions designed to promote sustainable use. We assessed whether remotely piloted aerial systems (commonly known as drones) are an appropriate tool for quantifying beach use, and if beach activities are influenced by environmental conditions. Novel drone-based methods were used to quantify beach use. Drone flights recorded 2 km of beach, capturing video footage of the beach from the dune to water interface and the breaker zone. Flights were undertaken during three school holiday periods at four popular beaches in New South Wales, Australia. These videos were later analysed in the laboratory to categorise beach users. Of the total users sampled, 45.0% were sunbathing, 22.8% swimming, 21.2% walking, 10.6% surfing, and less than 0.5% were fishing. Participation in walking, surfing and fishing was similar throughout the sampling periods. However, sunbathing and swimming significantly increased during the austral spring and summer sampling periods. Usage patterns varied significantly among beaches, and during the different sampling periods, suggesting that adaptive management strategies targeted to specific areas are the most appropriate way to protect beach habitats and users. Furthermore, we demonstrate that drones are an effective assessment tool to improve coastal management decisions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agüera-Vega F, Carvajal-Ramírez F, Martínez-Carricondo P (2017) Assessment of photogrammetric mapping accuracy based on variation ground control points number using unmanned aerial vehicle. Measurement 98:221–227 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026322411630700X
Alexandrakis G, Manasakis C, Kampanis NA (2015) Ocean & Coastal Management Valuating the effects of beach Erosion to tourism revenue. A management perspective. Ocean Coast Manag 111: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.04.001
Anderson K, Gaston KJ (2013) Lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles will revolutionize spatial ecology. Front Ecol Environ 11(3):138–146
Anderson M, Gorley R, Clarke K (2008) PERMANOVA+ for PRIMER: guide to software and statistical methods. Plymouth, UK.
Anweiler S, Piwowarski D (2017) Multicopter platform prototype for environmental monitoring. J Clean Prod 155:204–211
Attard A, Brander RW, Shaw WS (2015) Rescues conducted by surfers on Australian beaches. Accid Anal Prev 82:70–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2015.05.017
Balouin Y, Rey-Valette H, Picand PA (2014) Automatic assessment and analysis of beach attendance using video images at the lido of Sète Beach, France. Ocean Coast Manag 102(PA):114–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.09.006
Barbieri C, Sotomayor S (2013) Surf travel behavior and destination preferences : an application of the serious leisure inventory and measure. Tour Manag 35:111–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2012.06.005
Blackweir DG, Beckley LE (2004) “Beach usage patterns along the Perth metropolitan coastline during shark surveillance flights in summer 2003 / 04.” (December 2003)
Botero CM, Anfuso G, Milanes C, Cabrera A, Casas G, Pranzini E, Williams AT (2017) Litter assessment on 99 Cuban beaches: a baseline to identify sources of pollution and impacts for tourism and recreation. Mar Pollut Bull 118(1–2):437–441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.02.061
Brown G, Hausner VH (2017) An empirical analysis of cultural ecosystem values in coastal landscapes. Ocean Coast Manag 142:49–60 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569117302831
Casella E, Collin A, Harris D, Ferse S, Bejarano S, Parravicini V, … Rovere A (2017) Mapping coral reefs using consumer-grade drones and structure from motion photogrammetry techniques. Coral Reefs 36(1):269–275
Chabot D (2018) Trends in drone research and applications as the journal of unmanned vehicle systems turns five. J Unmanned Vehicle Systems 6(1):vi–xv. https://doi.org/10.1139/juvs-2018-0005
Chapman A (2014) It’s okay to call them drones. J Unmanned Vehicle Systems 02(02):iii–iiv. https://doi.org/10.1139/juvs-2014-0009
Chapman BK, Mcphee D (2016) Ocean & Coastal Management Global Shark Attack Hotspots : identifying underlying factors behind increased unprovoked shark bite incidence. Ocean Coast Manag 133:72–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.09.010
Chen CL, Teng N (2016) Management priorities and carrying capacity at a high-Use Beach from tourists’ perspectives: a way towards Sustainable Beach tourism. Mar Policy 74(June):213–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.09.030
Claesson A, Svensson L, Nordberg P, Ringh M, Rosenqvist M, Djarv T, Samuelsson J, Hernborg O, Dahlbom P, Jansson A, Hollenberg J (2017) Drones may be used to save lives in out of hospital cardiac arrest due to drowning. Resuscitation 114:152–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2017.01.003
Colefax AP, Butcher PA, Kelaher BP (2018) The potential for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to conduct marine Fauna surveys in place of manned aircraft. ICES J Mar Sci 75(1):1–8. https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article-lookup/. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsx100
Di Felice F, Mazzini A, Di Stefano G, Romeo G (2018) Drone high resolution infrared imaging of the Lusi mud eruption. Mar Pet Geol 90(December 2016):38–51 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264817217304269
Dwight RH, Brinks MV, SharavanaKumar G, Semenza JC (2007) Beach attendance and bathing rates for Southern California beaches. Ocean Coast Manag 50(10):847–858
Dwight RH, Catlin SN, Fernandez LM (2012) Amounts and distribution of Recreational Beach expenditures in Southern California. Ocean Coast Manag 59:13–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2011.12.010
Espejo A, Losada IJ, Méndez FJ (2014) Surfing wave climate variability. Glob Planet Chang 121:19–25 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818114001192
Goebel ME, Perryman WL, Hinke JT, Krause DJ, Hann NA, Gardner S, LeRoi DJ (2015) A small unmanned aerial system for estimating abundance and size of Antarctic predators. Polar Biology 38 (5):619-630
Gonçalves JA, Henriques R (2015) UAV photogrammetry for topographic monitoring of coastal areas. ISPRS J Photogramm Remote Sens 104: 101–111. http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.scu.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0924271615000532. Accessed (November 10, 2017)
González SA, Holtmann-Ahumada G (2017) Quality of tourist beaches of northern Chile: a first approach for ecosystem-based management. Ocean Coast Manag 137:154–164 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569116304653
Guillén, J, García-Olivares A, Ojeda E, Osorio A, Chic O, González R (2008) Long-term quantification of beach users using video monitoring. J Coast Res 246:1612–1619. http://www.jcronline.org. https://doi.org/10.2112/07-0886.1
Hannam P (2017) “Shark nets: Ballina surfers Back in water after confidence-boosting six-month trial.” https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/shark-nets-ballina-surfers-back-in-water-after-confidenceboosting-sixmonth-trial-20170428-gvuqhb.html. Accessed: 16/07/2018
Hodgson A, Kelly N, Peel D (2013) Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveying marine Fauna: a Dugong case study. PLoS One 8(11):1–15
Huamantinco CMA, Revollo SNV, Delrieux CA, Piccolo MC, Perillo GME (2016).Beach carrying capacity assessment through image processing tools for coastal management. Ocean Coast Manag 130:138–147 http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0964569116301193
Ibarra EM (2011) The use of webcam images to determine tourist-climate aptitude: Favourable weather types for sun and beach tourism on the Alicante coast (Spain). Int J Biometeorol 55:373–385
James RJ (2000) From beaches to beach environments: linking the ecology, human-use and Management of Beaches in Australia. Ocean Coast Manag 43(6):495–514
Jiménez López J, Mulero-Pázmány M (2019) Drones for conservation in protected areas: present and future. Drones 3(1):10
Jiménez JA, Osorio A, Marino-Tapia I, Davidson M, Medina R, Kroon A, Archetti R, Ciavola P, Aarnikhof SGJ (2007) Beach recreation planning using video-derived coastal state indicators. Coast Eng 54(6–7):507–521
Juhasz A, Ho E, Bender E, Fong P (2010) Does use of tropical beaches by tourists and island residents result in damage to fringing coral reefs? A case study in Moorea French Polynesia. Mar Pollut Bull 60(12):2251–2256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.08.011
Kelaher BP, Colefax AP, Tagliafico A, Bishop MJ, Giles A, Butcher PA (2019) Assessing variation in assemblages of large marine Fauna off ocean beaches using drones. Mar Freshw Res
King P, McGregor A (2012) Who’s counting: an analysis of beach attendance estimates and methodologies in Southern California. Ocean Coast Manag 58:17–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2011.12.005
Konar B, Iken K (2018) The use of unmanned aerial vehicle imagery in intertidal monitoring. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 147(April 2017):79–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2017.04.010
Lucrezi S, Saayman M, Van der Merwe P (2016) An assessment tool for Sandy beaches: a case study for Integrating Beach description, human dimension, and economic factors to identify priority management issues. Ocean Coast Manag 121(1–22):1–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.12.003
Maguire GS, Miller KK, Weston MA, Young K (2011) Being beside the seaside: beach use and preferences among coastal residents of south-eastern Australia. Ocean Coast Manag 54(10):781–788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2011.07.012
Martin C, Parkes S, Zhang Q, Zhang X, McCabe MF, Duarte CM (2018) Use of unmanned aerial vehicles for Efficient Beach litter monitoring. Mar Pollut Bull 131(April):662–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.04.045
McKay C, Brander RW, Goff J (2014) Putting tourists in harms way - coastal tourist parks and hazardous unpatrolled surf beaches in New South Wales, Australia. Tour Manag 45:71–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.03.007
Nishar A, Richards S, Breen D, Robertson J, Breen B (2016) Thermal infrared imaging of geothermal environments and by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV): a case study of the Wairakei - Tauhara geothermal field, Taupo, New Zealand. Renew Energy 86:1256–1264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.09.042
Nyman E (2019) Techno-optimism and ocean governance: new trends in maritime monitoring. Mar Policy 99(September 2018):30–33 https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0308597X18303750
Orchard S (2017) Lessons for the Design of Surf Resource Protection – the Australasian experience. Ocean Coast Manag 148:104–112 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569117301783
Papageorgiou M (2016) Ocean & Coastal Management Coastal and marine tourism : a challenging factor in marine spatial planning. Ocean Coast Manag 129:44–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.05.006
Pérez-Maqueo O, Martínez ML, Nahuacatl RC (2017). “Is the protection of beach and dune vegetation compatible with tourism?” Tour Manag 58: 175–183. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517716301972. Accessed (November 6, 2017)
R Development Core Team (2008) “R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing”
Scott SQ, Rogers SH (2018) Surf’s up? How does water quality risk impact surfer decisions? Ocean Coast Manag 151(October 2017):53–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.10.025
Semeoshenkova V, Newton A (2015) Overview of Erosion and beach quality issues in three southern European countries: Portugal, Spain and Italy. Ocean Coast Manag 118:12–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.08.013
Semeoshenkova V, Newton A, Contin A, Greggio N (2017) Development and application of an Integrated Beach quality index (BQI). Ocean Coast Manag 143:74–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.08.013
Surf Life Saving New South Wales (2017) New South Wales coastal safety report 2017. SLSNSW: Sydney
Tauro F, Porfiri M, Grimaldi S (2016) Surface flow measurements from drones. J Hydrol 540:240–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.06.012
Turner IL, Harley MD, Drummond CD (2016) UAVs for coastal surveying. Coast Eng 114:19–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2016.03.011
Ventura D, Bruno M, Lasinio GJ, Belluscio A, Ardizzone G (2016) A low-cost drone based application for identifying and mapping of coastal fish nursery grounds. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 171:85–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2016.01.030
Warton NM, Brander RW (2017) Improving Tourist Beach safety awareness : the benefits of watching Bondi rescue. Tour Manag 63:187–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.06.017
Wray M, Laing J, Voigt C (2010) Byron Bay: an alternate health and wellness destination. J Hosp Tour Manag 17(1):158–166 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1447677000000759
Zhang F, Wang XH (2013) Assessing preferences of beach users for certain aspects of weather and ocean conditions: case studies from Australia. Int J Biometeorol 57(3):337–347
Zhang F, Wang XH, Nunes PALDLD, Ma C (2015) The recreational value of Gold Coast beaches, Australia: an application of the travel cost method. Ecosystem Services 11:106–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.09.001
Zuur AF, Ieno EN (2016) A protocol for conducting and presenting results of regression-type analyses. Methods Ecol Evol 7(6):636–645. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12577
Acknowledgments
We thank the contracted pilots and observers for their role in collecting footage. Project funding and support was provided by the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI – Fisheries) and associated NSW Shark Management Strategy, with further support through Southern Cross University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics
NSW DPI ACEC Proposal 16/09 – Coastal aerial surveys.
Disclosure statement
There is no financial or other benefits to disclose from the direct applications of my research.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Provost, E.J., Butcher, P.A., Colefax, A.P. et al. Using drones to quantify beach users across a range of environmental conditions. J Coast Conserv 23, 633–642 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-019-00694-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-019-00694-y