Volusia County 2023-2024 Manatee Distribution Survey Theoretical Flight Path

Aerial distribution surveys are used by marine mammal biologists from Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWC-FWRI) 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. Surveys are flown along a standardized, theoretical flight route, which was designed to cover 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 since some areas along the planned flight path may have been partially surveyed or not surveyed at all due to air traffic, weather, or other constraints present during individual surveys. The Volusia County distribution surveys were conducted by one aircraft mostly following historical flight paths used for past county-wide distribution surveys. The survey area included coastal areas of Volusia County, Florida from the Flagler-Volusia County line to the Volusia-Brevard County line at the southern end of Mosquito Lagoon. GPS tracklines recorded during surveys may be available upon request.佛罗里达鱼类与野生动物保护委员会-鱼类与野生动物研究所（FWC-FWRI）及其他机构的海洋哺乳动物生物学家，采用航空分布调查方法以确定海牛的季节性分布情况。绝大多数调查由四座小型上单翼飞机（赛斯纳172（Cessna 172）或赛斯纳182（Cessna 182））执行，飞行高度为500至1000英尺（ft），航速维持在70至90节（kts）。调查沿标准化理论航线开展，该航线的设计初衷是覆盖研究区域内所有潜在的海牛栖息地。这条“理论飞行路径”标注了每次调查的实际覆盖范围，但由于单次调查中可能受空中交通、天气或其他限制因素影响，计划航线中的部分区域可能仅被部分勘测，甚至完全未开展调查，因此实际飞行路线未必完全契合预设的理论航线。沃卢西亚县（Volusia County）的海牛分布调查由单架飞机执行，主要沿用过往全县范围分布调查的历史飞行路径。本次调查区域覆盖佛罗里达州沃卢西亚县的沿海地带，北起弗拉格勒-沃卢西亚县界，南至蚊子泻湖（Mosquito Lagoon）南端的沃卢西亚-布雷瓦德县界。调查过程中记录的GPS航迹线可应申请提供。