Estimating wolf (Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis
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 conservat...
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/334266 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 |
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ftcsic:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/334266 2024-02-11T10:02:44+01:00 Estimating wolf (Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis Jiménez, José Cara, Daniel García-Domínguez, Francisco Barasona, José A. Xunta de Galicia Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (España) 2023 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10261/334266 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 en eng Wiley-VCH Publisher's version https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 Sí Ecosphere 14(7): e4604 (2023) http://hdl.handle.net/10261/334266 doi:10.1002/ecs2.4604 2150-8925 open artículo 2023 ftcsic https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 2024-01-16T11:52:26Z 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 km2 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. This study was funded by Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (MITECO), and Xunta de Galicia facilitated the fieldwork. Peer reviewed Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Digital.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) Ecosphere 14 7 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Digital.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) |
op_collection_id |
ftcsic |
language |
English |
description |
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 km2 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. This study was funded by Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (MITECO), and Xunta de Galicia facilitated the fieldwork. Peer reviewed |
author2 |
Xunta de Galicia Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (España) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jiménez, José Cara, Daniel García-Domínguez, Francisco Barasona, José A. |
spellingShingle |
Jiménez, José Cara, Daniel García-Domínguez, Francisco Barasona, José A. Estimating wolf (Canis lupus) densities using video camera traps and spatial capture–recapture analysis |
author_facet |
Jiménez, José Cara, Daniel García-Domínguez, Francisco Barasona, José A. |
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-VCH |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/334266 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_relation |
Publisher's version https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 Sí Ecosphere 14(7): e4604 (2023) http://hdl.handle.net/10261/334266 doi:10.1002/ecs2.4604 2150-8925 |
op_rights |
open |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4604 |
container_title |
Ecosphere |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
7 |
_version_ |
1790598780792340480 |