1.7 Key steps in developing a survey and monitoring programme
Choosing the best method, working within budgets, personnel skill sets, and expertise.
SURVEY PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION STAGES
| 1 | Establish purpose of survey and/or monitoring programme - need to clearly establish WHAT you want to survey and monitor and WHY (e.g. the question or objective behind it, such as “in 10 years we want to know whether X has increased”) | |
| 2 | Species to be studied (if known), location (island, island group, or part of mainland), project partners, funding availability | |
Survey Design |
Planning/logistics |
|
| 3 | Decide on the best methods to use – your tool kit | Identify government agencies / permitting requirements |
| 4 | Identify all your survey equipment requirements (e.g. what to purchase, loan, or use from own stock) | Identify communities in vicinity of site – make contact and gain approvals/support from the community noting most land is communally owned not government owned in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). A collaborative approach where community members are involved is often highly appropriate and critical to success |
| 5 | Draft survey maps | Obtain detailed topographical maps of the site to be surveyed; also, aerial images, or Google Earth imagery |
| 6 | Timing – dependent on species’ breeding cycles (are they known for the species population in your area?); are repeat surveys to be worked into the plan? | Timing for conducting fieldwork – e.g. team to assemble, how many field trips |
| 7 | Sampling requirements – which samples need to be taken and for which stage of breeding | Field camp requirements and logistical considerations |
| 8 | Tracking requirements (if needed) – determine which devices to use and when to deploy | Assess what accommodation is required locally for before start of surveys |
| 9 | Identify field base sites | Work out travel requirements (e.g., flights, vehicles, boat transfers) |
| 10 | Training – consider capacity building to be incorporated into the survey plan | Personnel – who will lead the survey, how many will be required and who the ideal participants will be |
| 11 | Travel to survey site and meet with local community leaders; meet and brief local field workers | |
| 12 | Draft your project proposal and finalise the budget | |
| 13 | Secure funding | |
Implementation |
||
| 14 | Book transport and accommodation | |
| 15 | Equipment purchases | |
| 17 | Provisioning | |
| 18 | Undertake field work | |
| 19 | Results | |
Reporting |
Conservation management |
|
| 20 | Data management and analysis (See Section – 4.1) | Identify threats (implementation dependent on the severity of risk to seabirds identified) |
| 21 | Report findings to communities | Identify key management actions necessary |
| 22 | Prepare reports for sponsors, Government officials, noting depending on arrangement with government they may require access to raw data as well as reports | Identify remaining data gaps |
| 23 | Publish results (consider doing so in peer-reviewed open-access journals or as a readily accessible report) and/or management plan |
Identify next steps to be taken (including setting up and implementing any ongoing monitoring programmes) |
1.7.1 The importance of surveys and monitoring to inform adaptive conservation management
Adaptive management is a process that promotes flexible decision making in the face of uncertainties as outcomes from management actions and other events become better understood. Surveys and monitoring are critical parts of effective species conservation; however, conservation monitoring programmes must have preplanned interventions and a clear statement about how the information derived from monitoring will help to conserve or otherwise benefit the species. Conservation monitoring programmes and management plans should ideally identify trigger points for prespecified management intervention, in fact this may be the reason for the monitoring project in the first place. Management intervention should be triggered when it becomes apparent that a monitored species is in long term decline,16 although there is room for adopting a precautionary approach.
For example, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) (‘ua’u kani) are monitored in Maui Nui, Hawaii. The species has not been determined to be in ‘long term decline’. However, the species was in the islands in much greater numbers before human alteration of habitat and introduction of predatory mammals. Monitoring, including soil and near shore coral reef habitats for presence and impacts of seabird derived marine nutrients, will provide justification for community/agency support for protection and maintenance of healthy populations.17
Seabird species most at risk in the Pacific are the petrels, shearwaters and albatrosses, therefore, it is important that sufficient conservation efforts are directed to this order of birds in particular.