Premium
Design and field methods for sighting surveys of cetaceans in coastal and riverine habitats
Author(s) -
DAWSON STEVE,
WADE PAUL,
SLOOTEN ELISABETH,
BARLOW JAY
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
mammal review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.574
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2907
pISSN - 0305-1838
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2907.2008.00119.x
Subject(s) - habitat , sophistication , abundance (ecology) , transect , field (mathematics) , set (abstract data type) , environmental resource management , computer science , geography , focus (optics) , fishery , ecology , environmental science , social science , physics , mathematics , sociology , pure mathematics , optics , biology , programming language
1 Dolphins and porpoises in coastal and/or riverine habitats face serious conservation threats, yet surveys of their abundance are often especially difficult due to the challenges imposed by the habitats. Because many of these species occur in developing countries, lack of resources imposes a further set of challenges. 2 We offer advice on designing and conducting line‐transect surveys with a focus on sound, practical, design rather than analytical sophistication, and we attempt, where possible, to offer simple, inexpensive solutions. 3 We guide the reader through the questions of what kind of survey should be done, whether by boat or aircraft, and we discuss ways to avoid bias and increase precision. 4 Our treatment of field methods focuses especially on robust, but low‐cost, approaches. We provide two case studies to illustrate the implementation of these ideas.