Distance sampling with camera traps
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Date
11/2017Keywords
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Abstract
1. Reliable estimates of animal density and abundance are essential for effective wildlife conservation and management. Camera trapping has proven efficient for sampling multiple species, but statistical estimators of density from camera trapping data for species that cannot be individually identified are still in development. 2. We extend point-transect methods for estimating animal density to accommodate data from camera traps, allowing researchers to exploit existing distance sampling theory and software for designing studies and analyzing data. We tested it by simulation, and used it to estimate densities of Maxwell’s duikers (Philantomba maxwellii) in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. 3. Densities estimated from simulated data were unbiased when we assumed animals were not available for detection during long periods of rest. Estimated duiker densities were higher than recent estimates from line transect surveys, which are believed to underestimate densities of forest ungulates. 4. We expect these methods to provide an effective means to estimate animal density from camera trapping data and to be applicable in a variety of settings.
Citation
Howe , E J , Buckland , S T , Després-Einspenner , M-L & Kühl , H 2017 , ' Distance sampling with camera traps ' , Methods in Ecology and Evolution , vol. 8 , no. 11 , pp. 1558-1565 . https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12790
Publication
Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2041-210XType
Journal article
Rights
© 2017, The Authors. Methods in Ecology and Evolution © 2017 British Ecological Society. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at onlinelibrary.wiley.com / https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12790
Description
We thank the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Max Planck Society, and the University of St Andrews for funding. The data files from which densities of Maxwell's duikers were estimated using Distance software, and data describing start times of videos of Maxwell's duikers, have been archived at the Dryad data repository (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.b4c70) (Howe et al. 2017).Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.