Broward and Miami-Dade counties 1988-1990 Manatee Distribution Survey Theoretical Flight Path

Aerial distribution 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 fixed wing aircraft in urban areas or where waters are particularly opaque and hovering may be required. Surveys are flown along a standardized, theoretical flight route, which was designed to cover all likely manatee habitats in the study area. This "theoretical flight path" indicates the area that was covered during each survey, but it may not be the actual flight route flown on every survey. GPS tracklines recorded during surveys may be available for some flights. The survey area includes the southern portion of Palm Beach County, the length of Broward County and the northern half of Dade County. The survey followed the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) from Lake Boca Raton in southern Palm Beach County, southward along the ICW in Broward County and ended at Kings Bay on the northwestern shore of Biscayne Bay in Dade County.来自佛罗里达鱼类与野生动物保护委员会（FWC）及其他机构的海洋哺乳动物生物学家，会通过航空分布调查来确定海牛的季节分布范围。多数调查采用小型四座高翼飞机（赛斯纳172或182）开展，飞行高度设定为500至1000英尺，飞行速度为70至90节。在城市区域或水体透明度极低、需要悬停作业的场景中，可使用小型直升机替代固定翼飞机。调查沿标准化的理论飞行航线开展，该航线的设计初衷是覆盖研究区内所有潜在的海牛栖息地。这条“理论飞行路径”标明了每次调查所覆盖的区域，但实际执行的飞行航线未必与之一致。部分飞行任务会留存调查期间记录的GPS航迹数据。调查范围涵盖棕榈滩县南部区域、布劳沃德县全域以及戴德县北部半区。本次调查沿内陆水道（Intracoastal Waterway, ICW）开展，从棕榈滩县南部的博卡拉顿湖出发，沿布劳沃德县境内的内陆水道向南飞行，最终终止于戴德县比斯坎湾西北岸的国王湾。