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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/8667| Title: | Demonstration of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) acoustic technologies for manatee detection |
| Authors: | Furey, John S. Sabol, Bruce M. Stodola, Paul |
| Keywords: | Acoustic technologies Acoustic sounding detection Manatees Florida manatee Dredging Environmental management Dredging Operations and Environmental Research Program (U.S.) |
| Publisher: | Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | Technical Note (Dredging Operations and Environmental Research Program (U.S.)) ; no.ERDC TN-DOER-E35 |
| Abstract: | The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, which requires protection of threatened and endangered (T&E) species, has led the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to closely examine U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dredging and other activities in areas with known populations of aquatic T&E species. In particular, the FWS and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have expressed concern to the USACE Jacksonville District (SAJ) that clamshell bucket dredging operations at Port Canaveral, FL, might be harmful to the endangered Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostrus, Figure 1), which inhabits that area. Manatee spotters, trained observers whose dedicated function is to look for manatees in the immediate vicinity, are routinely used on dredges operating at this site. However, visual spotting is more reliable during daylight hours, and is only effective when the animals are at or near the surface regardless of time of day. FWS and FWC maintain that night-time clamshell dredging poses an unacceptable risk to manatees and have proposed to limit dredging to daytime only, unless other detection methods become available. Through recent ESA-Section 7 coordination with FWS as well as coordination with FWC, SAJ has agreed to investigate technologies for enhanced and automated detection of manatees that would be effective under all operating conditions. This agreement initially led to a brief study to examine the feasibility of night vision electro-optical equipment for night-time manatee spotting and detection (Sabol 2009). Thermal imagery was found to have some efficacy at detecting submersed, near-surface manatees under clear, calm weather conditions, but it did not appear to be sufficiently robust that it would be effective under all operating conditions. The technology focus was then placed on acoustics to detect manatees during clamshell dredging operations. This investigation is to be performed over a period of four years (2010-2013) with the results provided to the FWS and FWC for review and comment. |
| Description: | Technical Note |
| Gov't Doc #: | ERDC TN-DOER-E35 |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/8667 |
| Appears in Collections: | Technical Note |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERDC-TN-DOER-E35.pdf | ERDC TN-DOER-E35 | 1.07 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |