Possible fly-away/insect impact?

[PINEBARON]

The OA is MIA. He managed to get you guys worked up against each other. Be nice! Its almost Christmas and the Holidays!

 

[Meta4]

And "...benthic communities..." - that's a howler, perhaps he/she thought it sounded more academic than "sea life".

Considering it was an academic paper, it's appropriate for the author to use the correct and specific terminology.

And regarding the idea that strong directional light or specular reflection can cause odd behaviour in drones: this is not without precedent.

There is no shortage of accounts of obstacle avoidance stopping DJI drones when flying towards a low, bright sun.
But that's not what the OA experienced.
Reflected glare from the water's surface is unlikely to have any effect on obstacle avoidance as the light is diffused, rather than concentrated and directional and the drone isn't flying towards the water's surface.