The use of the Global Positioning System for real-time data collecting during ecological aerial surveys in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

• Main Authors: P.C. Viljoen, P.F. Retiff
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AOSIS 1994-08-01
• Series: Koedoe: African Protected Area Conservation and Science
• Subjects: aerial survey, census technique, data collecting, GPS, Kruger National Park
• Online Access: https://koedoe.co.za/index.php/koedoe/article/view/332

The use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for real-time data collecting during ecological aerial surveys (EAS) in the Kruger National Park (KNP) was investigated as an alternative to post-survey manual data capture. Results obtained during an aerial census of large herbivores and surface water distribution in the northern part of the KNP using an onboard GPS connected to a palmtop computer are discussed. This relatively inexpensive system proved to be highly efficient for real-time data capture while additional information such as ground velocity and time can be recorded for every data point. Measures of distances between a ground marker and fix points measured during a flight (x = 60.0 m) are considered to be well within the requirements of the EAS.