Comparative assessment of two aerial wildlife counting techniques in Tanzania

Thesis (MTech. degree in Nature Conservation.)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2011.Effective management and conservation of wildlife populations requires reliable estimates of population size, which are however usually difficult and costly to obtain. This study investigated the efficiency of two aerial counting techniques used in estimating wildlife populations, namely systematic reconnaissance flights and aerial distance sampling. In Tanzania systematic reconnaissance flights has long been the method of choice for aerial surveys, but aerial distance sampling potentially offers a more statistically robust sampling method. These two methods where compared to evaluate their all-round effectiveness for survey objectives in Tanzania. The study further assessed the impact of sampling designs and intensities on estimates of population parameters