|
Dear Marmam members, The following paper has recently been published- Faustino, C.E.S., Silva, M.A., Marques, T.A. and Thomas, L. 2010. Designing a shipboard line transect survey to estimate cetacean abundance off the Azores archipelago. Arquipélago. Life and Marine Sciences 27: 49-58. You can download it from http://www.horta.uac.pt/intradop//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1643&Itemid=272 or request to cf@smru.co.uk Abstract Management
schemes dedicated to the conservation of wildlife populations rely on the
effective monitoring of population size, and this may require the accurate and
precise estimation of this parameter. Line transect distance sampling can be an
effective approach for estimating abundance. Little information is available
regarding cetacean abundance in the Azores. This paper had two aims: 1) to
design a line transect shipboard survey to estimate the absolute abundance of
the most common cetaceans off the Azores; and 2) to provide a set of potential
survey effort scenarios to policy makers and environmental managers. Three
survey scenarios are assessed, and one detailed survey design is presented. A
total of 8,800 km of survey effort is recommended; at this level the expected
coefficient of variation of estimates is less than 0.3 for most species.
However, if logistic constraints prevent this, at least 5,000 km of survey
effort should be used to achieve minimum sample size requirements; this is
estimated to take 36 days of effort. It is also recommended to conduct a pilot
survey. This would provide more detailed information that could be used to
improve the survey design of what would be the first survey of this magnitude
ever to be implemented in the Azores. best regards! Cláudia Faustino Research Scientist Scottish Oceans Institute SMRU Limited New Technology Centre North Haugh ST ANDREWS Fife KY16 9SR email: cf@smru.co.uk Tel: + 44 (0) 1334 466 900 Fax: + 44 (0) 1334 477 878 Notice of Confidentiality: this email
has been sent by SMRU Limited, Registered Company No: 296937. This
message, and any attachments, are intended solely for the addressee and may
contain privileged or confidential information. If you are not the
intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or
omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful.
If you believe that you have received this email in error, please contact the
sender immediately and destroy this email. Although we have taken steps
to ensure that this email and any attachments are free from any virus, we advise
that, in keeping with good computing practice, the recipient should ensure they
are actually virus free. |