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Detectability in audio-visual surveys of tropical rainforest birds : the influence of species, weather and habitat characteristics

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Marques_2015_PLOSone_Detectability_CC.pdf (2.249Mb)
Date
25/06/2015
Author
Anderson, Alexander S.
Marques, Tiago A.
Shoo, Luke P.
Williams, Stephen E.
Keywords
Distance-sampling methods
Australian wet tropics
Point-count surveys
Climate-change
Population-size
Transect counts
Measurement error
Breeding season
Abundance
Density
HA Statistics
QL Zoology
NDAS
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Abstract
Indices of relative abundance do not control for variation in detectability, which can bias density estimates such that ecological processes are difficult to infer. Distance sampling methods can be used to correct for detectability, but in rainforest, where dense vegetation and diverse assemblages complicate sampling, information is lacking about factors affecting their application. Rare species present an additional challenge, as data may be too sparse to fit detection functions. We present analyses of distance sampling data collected for a diverse tropical rainforest bird assemblage across broad elevational and latitudinal gradients in North Queensland, Australia. Using audio and visual detections, we assessed the influence of various factors on Effective Strip Width (ESW), an intuitively useful parameter, since it can be used to calculate an estimate of density from count data. Body size and species exerted the most important influence on ESW, with larger species detectable over greater distances than smaller species. Secondarily, wet weather and high shrub density decreased ESW for most species. ESW for several species also differed between summer and winter, possibly due to seasonal differences in calling behavior. Distance sampling proved logistically intensive in these environments, but large differences in ESW between species confirmed the need to correct for detection probability to obtain accurate density estimates. Our results suggest an evidence-based approach to controlling for factors influencing detectability, and avenues for further work including modeling detectability as a function of species characteristics such as body size and call characteristics. Such models may be useful in developing a calibration for non-distance sampling data and for estimating detectability of rare species.
Citation
Anderson , A S , Marques , T A , Shoo , L P & Williams , S E 2015 , ' Detectability in audio-visual surveys of tropical rainforest birds : the influence of species, weather and habitat characteristics ' , PLoS One , vol. 10 , no. 6 , 0128464 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0128464
Publication
PLoS One
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0128464
ISSN
1932-6203
Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2015 Anderson et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Description
This research was funded by the Australian Government’s National Environmental Research Program, the Stuart Leslie Bird Research Award from Birds Australia (http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/), the Earthwatch Institute (http://www.earthwatch.org/australia/), the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF: http://www.rrrc.org.au/mtsrf). In addition, TAM was partially sponsored by national funds through the Fundação Nacional para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal – FCT under the project (PEst-OE/MAT/UI0006/2011). Date of Acceptance: 27/04/2015
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/7147

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