Estimating wolf ( Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis
Abstract Estimating population density is critical for effective species conservation, wildlife management planning, and long‐term monitoring. Obtaining accurate estimates is especially important for the wolf ( Canis lupus ), a widely distributed northern hemisphere apex predator whose management an...
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crwiley:10.1002/ecs2.4604 2024-09-15T18:01:09+00:00 Estimating wolf ( Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis Jiménez, José Cara, Daniel García‐Dominguez, Francisco Barasona, Jose Angel Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.4604 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecosphere volume 14, issue 7 ISSN 2150-8925 2150-8925 journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 2024-07-04T04:29:22Z Abstract Estimating population density is critical for effective species conservation, wildlife management planning, and long‐term monitoring. Obtaining accurate estimates is especially important for the wolf ( Canis lupus ), a widely distributed northern hemisphere apex predator whose management and conservation are highly controversial in most of its range, and whose presence usually generates high‐profile media coverage. The peculiarities of wolf social spatial organization and behavior can violate the assumptions of capture–recapture models (uniformity and independence, respectively) to a greater or lesser extent and make it difficult to obtain precise and reliable density estimates. This paper presents a case study, which estimated the population density of the Iberian wolf in the Dorsal Gallega mountain ridge (Galicia, NW Spain) based on the identification of individual wolves from their traits and behavior using video camera traps and spatially explicit capture–recapture (SCR) analyses. The study followed three phases. Firstly, field data were collected by installing camera traps and changing their location until the entire area was sampled. Second, a complete morphological and behavioral study of the wolves recorded was performed to facilitate individual recognition. Third, overdispersion due to gregariousness and other sources of heterogeneity was modeled in the SCR analyses comparing Poisson and negative binomial observation models with different random effects on the baseline detection probability. We estimated a density of 2.88 (SD: 0.37) wolves/100 km 2 in the study area. We concluded that estimating wolf population size using camera trap videos, individual identification, and SCR provides a feasible method and can be used for estimating the density in similar species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Wiley Online Library Ecosphere 14 7 |
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English |
description |
Abstract Estimating population density is critical for effective species conservation, wildlife management planning, and long‐term monitoring. Obtaining accurate estimates is especially important for the wolf ( Canis lupus ), a widely distributed northern hemisphere apex predator whose management and conservation are highly controversial in most of its range, and whose presence usually generates high‐profile media coverage. The peculiarities of wolf social spatial organization and behavior can violate the assumptions of capture–recapture models (uniformity and independence, respectively) to a greater or lesser extent and make it difficult to obtain precise and reliable density estimates. This paper presents a case study, which estimated the population density of the Iberian wolf in the Dorsal Gallega mountain ridge (Galicia, NW Spain) based on the identification of individual wolves from their traits and behavior using video camera traps and spatially explicit capture–recapture (SCR) analyses. The study followed three phases. Firstly, field data were collected by installing camera traps and changing their location until the entire area was sampled. Second, a complete morphological and behavioral study of the wolves recorded was performed to facilitate individual recognition. Third, overdispersion due to gregariousness and other sources of heterogeneity was modeled in the SCR analyses comparing Poisson and negative binomial observation models with different random effects on the baseline detection probability. We estimated a density of 2.88 (SD: 0.37) wolves/100 km 2 in the study area. We concluded that estimating wolf population size using camera trap videos, individual identification, and SCR provides a feasible method and can be used for estimating the density in similar species. |
author2 |
Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jiménez, José Cara, Daniel García‐Dominguez, Francisco Barasona, Jose Angel |
spellingShingle |
Jiménez, José Cara, Daniel García‐Dominguez, Francisco Barasona, Jose Angel Estimating wolf ( Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis |
author_facet |
Jiménez, José Cara, Daniel García‐Dominguez, Francisco Barasona, Jose Angel |
author_sort |
Jiménez, José |
title |
Estimating wolf ( Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis |
title_short |
Estimating wolf ( Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis |
title_full |
Estimating wolf ( Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis |
title_fullStr |
Estimating wolf ( Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Estimating wolf ( Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis |
title_sort |
estimating wolf ( canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.4604 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Ecosphere volume 14, issue 7 ISSN 2150-8925 2150-8925 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 |
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Ecosphere |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
7 |
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1810438340159209472 |