Brevard County 1997-1999 Manatee Distribution Survey Observations
<a href="http://atoll.floridamarine.org/Data/Metadata/SDE_Current/Manatee_DistObs_Brevard_1997_1999_pnt.html" target=_blank>For a full FGDC compliant metadata record, please click here. </a> </p>

Aerial distributional surveys are used by marine mammal biologists from FWC and other agencies to determine the seasonal distribution of manatees. Most surveys are conducted from small, four-seat, high-winged airplanes (Cessna 172 or 182) flying at a height of 500-1000 ft at a speed of 70-90 kts. Small helicopters may be used instead of a fixed wing aircraft in urban areas or where waters are particularly opaque and hovering may be required. Flights are usually 4–6 hours long, and are most commonly flown every two weeks for two years. Due to the length of the Brevard County survey, the entire survey was flown over the course of two days, with the second flight always being flown within two days of the first flight; on occasion, the entire survey was completed in one day. The surveys are designed to maximize the manatee counts by concentrating on shallow nearshore waters around the state where manatees and their primary food source, seagrasses, are located. Flight paths curve along parallel to the shoreline, and the airplane circles when manatees are spotted until a count of the number of animals in each group is obtained. Offshore waters are usually not surveyed. Dolphin and sea turtle sights are recorded opportunistically. All aerial data are recorded on paper maps and entered into a GIS shapefile for spatial analysis. GIS is a computer software system for representing data spatially and for conducting spatial analyses. Surveys of Brevard County were flown from September 1997 to September 1999. FWC staff members were observers for these flights. The survey area includes the Atlantic Coast, Intracoastal Waterway and small tributaries of Brevard County.
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