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Download fileAerial surveys: effects of aircraft speed and environmental factors on marine megafauna
thesis
posted on 2022-03-28, 02:03 authored by Sally DupontAerial surveys are commonly used to monitor animal population and behaviour in both terrestrial and marine settings. Using aerial surveys and a density surface model (DSM) I investigated the impact of environmental factors on marine megafauna. The underestimation associated with marine aerial surveys are caused by two factors: availability and perception biases. Both of these can potentially be resolved by reducing aircraft speed. In this thesis I investigated whether observers sighted a greater number of marine animals when the aerial platform (in this case helicopters) travelled at 80 knots compared to 100 knots. No significant difference in detection of dolphins, fish schools or sharks was found, suggesting that observer training and experience has a greater impact than speed on the number and type of animals seen. Given the significant increment in cost of both observer time and helicopter charter incurred from using a 20% slower speed, without an increase in data quality, retention of the 100 knot survey speed is recommended. No significant relationship was found between dolphin and fish school counts and either sea surface temperature (SST) or chlorophyll-a (Chl-a). This suggests the involvement of other factors in the distribution and habitat selection of marine animal population.
History
Table of Contents
1. Aerial surveys: the effect of aircraft speed on marine megafauna counts -- 2. Factors influencing the nearshore distribution of sharks, fish & dolphins in NSW waters -- General thesis conclusion -- References -- Appendix.Notes
Bibliography: leaves 49-52 Thesis by publication.Awarding Institution
Macquarie UniversityDegree Type
Thesis MResDegree
MRes, Macquarie University, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Biological SciencesDepartment, Centre or School
Department of Biological SciencesYear of Award
2016Principal Supervisor
Rob HarcourtRights
Copyright Sally Dupont 2016. Copyright disclaimer: http://mq.edu.au/library/copyrightLanguage
EnglishJurisdiction
Tien ShanExtent
1 online resource (63 leaves) mapsFormer Identifiers
mq:70257 http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/1261819Usage metrics
Categories
Keywords
sea surface temperature (SST)marine megafaunaAnimal populationsdensity surface model (DSM)environmental factorschlorophyll-a (Chl-a)Animal populations -- Climatic factors -- Australiaaerial surveysAerial surveys in wildlife managementMarine animals -- Australiaaircraft speedMarine animalsAerial surveys in wildlife management -- Australia