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Aerial vehicles equipped with infrared thermal sensors facilitate quick density estimates of wildlife, but detection error can arise from the thermal sensor and viewer of the infrared video. We reviewed published research to determine how commonly these sources of error have been assessed in studies using infrared video from aerial platforms to sample wildlife. The number of annual articles pertaining to aerial sampling using infrared thermography has increased drastically since 2018, but past studies inconsistently assessed sources of imperfect detection. We illustrate the importance of accounting for some of these types of error in a case study on white‐tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus in Indiana, USA, using a simple double‐observer approach. In our case study, we found evidence of false negatives associated with the viewer of infrared video. Additionally, we found that concordance between the detections of two viewers increased when using a red‐green‐blue camera paired with the infrared thermal sensor, when altitude decreased and when more stringent criteria were used to classify thermal signatures as deer. We encourage future managers and ecologists recording infrared video from aerial platforms to use double‐observer methods to account for viewer‐induced false negatives when video is manually viewed by humans. We also recommend combining infrared video with red‐green‐blue video to reduce false positives, applying stringent verification standards to detections in infrared and red‐green‐blue video and collecting data at lower altitudes over snow when needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each year, billions of birds migrate across the globe, and interpretation of weather radar signals is increasingly being used to document the spatial and temporal migration patterns in Europe and America. Such approaches are yet to be applied in the East Asian‐Australasian Flyway (EAAF), one of the most species‐rich and threatened flyways in the world. Logistical challenges limit direct on‐ground monitoring of migratory birds in many parts of the EAAF, resulting in knowledge gaps on population status and site use that limit evidence‐based conservation planning. Weather radar data have great potential for achieving comprehensive migratory bird monitoring along the EAAF. In this study, we discuss the feasibility and challenges of using weather radar to complement on‐ground bird migration surveys in the flyway. We summarize the location, capacity and data availability of weather radars across EAAF countries, as well as the spatial coverage of the radars with respect to migrants' geographic distribution and migration hotspots along the flyway, with an exemplar analysis of biological movement patterns extracted from Chinese weather radars. There are more than 430 weather radars in EAAF countries, covering on average half of bird species' passage and non‐breeding distributions, as well as 70% of internationally important sites for migratory shorebirds. We conclude that the weather radar network could be a powerful resource for monitoring bird movements over the full annual cycle throughout much of the EAAF, providing estimates of migration traffic rates, site use, and long‐term population trends, especially in remote and less‐surveyed regions. Analyses of weather radar data would complement existing ornithological surveys and help understand the past and present status of the avian community in a highly threatened flyway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem structure, especially vertical vegetation structure, is one of the six essential biodiversity variable classes and is an important aspect of habitat heterogeneity, affecting species distributions and diversity by providing shelter, foraging, and nesting sites. Point clouds from airborne laser scanning (ALS) can be used to derive such detailed information on vegetation structure. However, public agencies usually only provide digital elevation models, which do not provide information on vertical vegetation structure. Calculating vertical structure variables from ALS point clouds requires extensive data processing and remote sensing skills that most ecologists do not have. However, such information on vegetation structure is extremely valuable for many analyses of habitat use and species distribution. We here propose 10 variables that should be easily accessible to researchers and stakeholders through national data portals. In addition, we argue for a consistent selection of variables and their systematic testing, which would allow for continuous improvement of such a list to keep it up‐to‐date with the latest evidence. This initiative is particularly needed not only to advance ecological and biodiversity research by providing valuable open datasets but also to guide potential users in the face of increasing availability of global vegetation structure products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]