Applying and testing a novel method to estimate animal density from motion‐triggered cameras
Abstract Estimating animal abundance and density are fundamental goals of many wildlife monitoring programs. Camera trapping has become an increasingly popular tool to achieve these monitoring goals due to recent advances in modeling approaches and the capacity to simultaneously collect data on mult...
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crwiley:10.1002/ecs2.4005 2024-09-15T17:36:17+00:00 Applying and testing a novel method to estimate animal density from motion‐triggered cameras Becker, Marcus Huggard, David J. Dickie, Melanie Warbington, Camille Schieck, Jim Herdman, Emily Serrouya, Robert Boutin, Stan Alberta Environment and Parks 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4005 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.4005 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ecs2.4005 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.4005 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecosphere volume 13, issue 4 ISSN 2150-8925 2150-8925 journal-article 2022 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4005 2024-07-04T04:31:20Z Abstract Estimating animal abundance and density are fundamental goals of many wildlife monitoring programs. Camera trapping has become an increasingly popular tool to achieve these monitoring goals due to recent advances in modeling approaches and the capacity to simultaneously collect data on multiple species. However, estimating the density of unmarked populations continues to be problematic due to the difficulty in implementing complex modeling approaches, low precision of estimates, and absence of rigor in testing of model assumptions and their influence on results. Here, we describe a novel approach that uses still image camera traps to estimate animal density without the need for individual identification, based on the time spent in front of the camera (TIFC). Using results from a large‐scale multispecies monitoring program with nearly 3000 cameras deployed over 6 years in Alberta, Canada, we provide a reproducible methodology to estimate parameters and we test key assumptions of the TIFC model. We compare moose ( Alces alces ) density estimates from aerial surveys and TIFC, including incorporating correction factors for known TIFC assumption violations. The resulting corrected TIFC density estimates are comparable to aerial density estimates. We discuss the limitations of the TIFC method and areas needing further investigation, including the need for long‐term monitoring of assumption violations and the number of cameras necessary to provide precise estimates. Despite the challenges of assumption violations and high measurement error, cameras and the TIFC method can provide useful alternative or complementary animal density estimates for multispecies monitoring when compared to traditional monitoring methods. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Wiley Online Library Ecosphere 13 4 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Estimating animal abundance and density are fundamental goals of many wildlife monitoring programs. Camera trapping has become an increasingly popular tool to achieve these monitoring goals due to recent advances in modeling approaches and the capacity to simultaneously collect data on multiple species. However, estimating the density of unmarked populations continues to be problematic due to the difficulty in implementing complex modeling approaches, low precision of estimates, and absence of rigor in testing of model assumptions and their influence on results. Here, we describe a novel approach that uses still image camera traps to estimate animal density without the need for individual identification, based on the time spent in front of the camera (TIFC). Using results from a large‐scale multispecies monitoring program with nearly 3000 cameras deployed over 6 years in Alberta, Canada, we provide a reproducible methodology to estimate parameters and we test key assumptions of the TIFC model. We compare moose ( Alces alces ) density estimates from aerial surveys and TIFC, including incorporating correction factors for known TIFC assumption violations. The resulting corrected TIFC density estimates are comparable to aerial density estimates. We discuss the limitations of the TIFC method and areas needing further investigation, including the need for long‐term monitoring of assumption violations and the number of cameras necessary to provide precise estimates. Despite the challenges of assumption violations and high measurement error, cameras and the TIFC method can provide useful alternative or complementary animal density estimates for multispecies monitoring when compared to traditional monitoring methods. |
author2 |
Alberta Environment and Parks |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Becker, Marcus Huggard, David J. Dickie, Melanie Warbington, Camille Schieck, Jim Herdman, Emily Serrouya, Robert Boutin, Stan |
spellingShingle |
Becker, Marcus Huggard, David J. Dickie, Melanie Warbington, Camille Schieck, Jim Herdman, Emily Serrouya, Robert Boutin, Stan Applying and testing a novel method to estimate animal density from motion‐triggered cameras |
author_facet |
Becker, Marcus Huggard, David J. Dickie, Melanie Warbington, Camille Schieck, Jim Herdman, Emily Serrouya, Robert Boutin, Stan |
author_sort |
Becker, Marcus |
title |
Applying and testing a novel method to estimate animal density from motion‐triggered cameras |
title_short |
Applying and testing a novel method to estimate animal density from motion‐triggered cameras |
title_full |
Applying and testing a novel method to estimate animal density from motion‐triggered cameras |
title_fullStr |
Applying and testing a novel method to estimate animal density from motion‐triggered cameras |
title_full_unstemmed |
Applying and testing a novel method to estimate animal density from motion‐triggered cameras |
title_sort |
applying and testing a novel method to estimate animal density from motion‐triggered cameras |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4005 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.4005 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ecs2.4005 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.4005 |
genre |
Alces alces |
genre_facet |
Alces alces |
op_source |
Ecosphere volume 13, issue 4 ISSN 2150-8925 2150-8925 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4005 |
container_title |
Ecosphere |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1810488417056718848 |