Short Communication

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

P.C. Viljoen, P.F. Retiff
Koedoe | Vol 37, No 1 | a332 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v37i1.332 | © 1994 P.C. Viljoen, P.F. Retiff | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 26 August 1994 | Published: 26 August 1994

About the author(s)

P.C. Viljoen, Kruger National Park, South Africa
P.F. Retiff,, South Africa

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Abstract

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.

Keywords

aerial survey, census technique, data collecting, GPS, Kruger National Park

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