Indian River Lagoon 2021-2025 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. 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 Indian River Lagoon distribution surveys were conducted by three aircraft mostly following historical flight paths used for past county-wide distribution surveys. The survey area includes the Indian River Lagoon from the Jupiter Inlet to A1A in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. 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，采用航空分布调查以探明海牛的季节性分布情况。该类调查依托小型四座上单翼飞机（塞斯纳172或塞斯纳182型）开展，飞行高度设置为500至1000英尺，航速维持在70至90节。调查沿标准化理论飞行航线实施，该航线的设计目标是覆盖研究区域内所有潜在的海牛栖息生境。此处的“理论飞行航线”仅用于标明单次调查所覆盖的区域范围，但受单次调查期间的空中交通、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调查，甚至完全未开展调查，因此实际飞行航线未必与预设航线完全一致。印度河泻湖（Indian River Lagoon）分布调查由三架飞机执行，大部分沿用过往全县范围分布调查的历史飞行航线。本次调查区域涵盖从木星入海口至佛罗里达州新士麦那海滩A1A公路沿线的印度河泻湖水域。调查期间记录的GPS航迹线可应相关方要求提供。