Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Florida
Abstract
We evaluated the use of strip-transect survey methods for manatees through a
series of replicate aerial surveys in the Banana River, Brevard County, Florida, during
summer 1993 and summer 1994. Transect methods sample a representative portion of
the total study area, thus allowing for statistical extrapolation to the total area. Other
advantages of transect methods are less flight time and less cost than total coverage, ease
of navigation, and reduced likelihood of double-counting.
Our objectives were: (1) to identify visibility biases associated with the transect
survey method and to adjust the counts accordingly; (2) to derive a population estimate
with known variance for the Banana River during summer; and (3) to evaluate the
potential value of this survey method for monitoring trends in manatee population size
over time. (51 page document
