Dear Sir and Subhasis, Please find attached the datasheets for the double-observer surveys.

The first sheet is the effort log (very similar to the one you kept for the Smith & Reeves method) and the second is the actual sheet to compile the data. I havent added the formulas now, because before using them we need to cross-check and calibrate the data to develop the capture histories. I will send details of thius sheet soon. Further, a small and fairly simple paragraph to explain to the FD people about the doubleobserver survey can be as follows: A total count is not a good measure of actual dolphin abundance because a) dolphins are diving mammals and all of them may not be available to sight, b) even if dolphins surface during the time section when we survey them, we may fail to detect them because of different surfacing behavior, weather conditions and observer fatigue/distraction etc...We can control these two sources of uncertainty (since we do not know how many dolphins we might have missed) by adding an observer team in the survey. Think of the analogy where we ask two persons to search for a lost key, because there is a higher chance of at least one person finding it, if not you. Here, to count dolphins, we will use two teams (3 people in each) to spot and record dolphins. These teams will not contact each other in any way during the survey, although they are on the same boat. Meaning, they will be completely physically isolated and separated from each other, and one team will not know what the other team may or may not have seen. As it is impossible to differentiate between individual dolphins, we can use GPS location and sighting time as indicators that both teams may have seen the same dolphin or dolphin group. So, if there is one dolphin group containing 3 individuals, 40 m to the left side of the boat, Observer team 1 will record GPS location, side from boat, and rough distance, and most important, sighting time in 24 hrs clock (e.g. 1030). Observer team 2 will also have a similar recording for this group (left, 40 m, 2 animals, 1030). It is important to calibrate GPS location and time between teams before starting the survey. Suppose team 1 spotted 50 dolphins, and team 2 spotted 42 dolphins, of which 35 were common to both teams...,i.e., team 1 and team 2 both missed a few, and both spotted a few, and only one team spotted some. The estimate of dolphin abundance in this case will be: 50 X 42 / 35 = 60. There is also a way to calculate the variation about this point estimate of 60 (something like 5-10), which represents the abundance better,m by taking into account the natural uncertainty in estimating the population. In the survey, all details must be noted clearly: weather, channel type, adult/subadult/calf, if possible even fishing pressure (no of boats fishing in the segment). This survey should be done at 2 km resolution, i.e. each 2 km length of river treated as one unit or one sampling transect. If possible, a zigzag design may be attempted, but i wont get into details of that right now.

Hope this is OK. Please ask if any queries or doubts (especially if the forest dept has issues) Thanks,