Comparative assessment of fixed wing based aerial wildlife census techniques: A case study of Maswa and Moyowosi Game Reserves, Tanzania.

Abstract

Effective management and conservation of wildlife populations require reliable estimates of population size, which can be difficult and costly to obtain. This study investigates and discusses the two aerial counting techniques currently used in estimating wildlife populations in Tanzania: Systematic Reconnaissance Flight (SRF) and Aerial Distance Sampling (ADS). We evaluated their precision, perceived accuracy and cost effectiveness. The study further assesses the impact of the sampling designs and intensities on estimates of population parameters. The study reveals that precision in estimates improves with increasing sampling intensity. The SRF has better coefficients of variation (CV) than ADS. Direct cost differences were negligible for any selected area. The analysis of two statistical procedures shows that there were significant differences between the two methods. The selection of appropriate techniques in counting wildlife should therefore depend on the objectives of the survey, the properties of the population to be sampled, the number and type of quantities to be measured, the auxiliary information available, and the limitations of funds, equipment and manpower.