Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Testing The Accuracy Of Aerial Surveys For Large Mammals: An Experiment With African Savanna Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Scott Scholossberg, Michael J. Chase, Curtice R. Griffin

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

Accurate counts of animals are critical for prioritizing conservation efforts. Past research, however, suggests that observers on aerial surveys may fail to detect all individuals of the target species present in the survey area. Such errors could bias population estimates low and confound trend estimation. We used two approaches to assess the accuracy of aerial surveys for African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) in northern Botswana. First, we used double-observer sampling, in which two observers make observations on the same herds, to estimate detectability of elephants and determine what variables affect it. Second, we compared total counts, a complete …