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What types of surveys are there? The practical aspect of this course will focus on a biodiversity survey, but most components of the course relate to both biodiversity and ecological surveys. A biodiversity survey documents the biodiversity of a specified area. The information collected provides people with the ability to assess conservation values of areas, understand the implications of changes in land use, document natural heritage, and assist in natural resource management. Ecological surveys usually involve surveying the distribution and abundance of either individual species or a few similar species, where direct and precise quantitative measurements are required. The species of primary interest are often pests, endangered or ecologically valuable, or for some economic reason such as harvesting. This type of survey information is vital to the management of these species. Here's an example of some of the different levels of information that you might collect about a species of plant as part of a biodiversity survey of an area. The hypothetical example is the Darwin Stringybark Eucalyptus tetrodonta. Field surveys may also be used to answer complex questions such as
These sorts of questions are generally regarded as the province of wildlife research rather than flora and fauna surveys. The major difference is that dealing with these questions may require
These skills are beyond the scope of this unit. Nevertheless, there is often no sharp line between wildlife research and flora and fauna survey, as you can see from the reading for Assessment item 1 (Woinarski et al. 1999). All good wildlife research builds on a firm base of natural history knowledge, including the sort of information we can collect in a flora or fauna survey. Who uses flora and fauna surveys? In the Northern Territory, most flora and fauna surveys are undertaken by the Parks & Wildlife Commission and private consultants acting for developers (as in the Ord River EIS), whilst the NT Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment is a major user of the survey results. What are the purposes of flora and fauna
surveys?
As it is unrealistic to count and measure all the plants and animals
in a particular habitat, it is necessary to estimate these measurements
for a population or community by sampling it. The basic concepts
and techniques required to carry out these types of surveys are
applicable to a wide range of environments. However, every site
is different and no two surveys will be the same. The objectives
of a given survey also make each one different from the last. The
importance of having clearly stated objectives cannot be overemphasised. |
