Browsing by Subject "camera trap"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Open Access
Caught in the act! Using camera trapping to investigate the link between tropical forest degradation and biodiversity in the Belize Maya Forest
(2023-04-27) Boos, Elise; Bruno, Kelly
Tropical forests retain an abundance of the world’s species yet are acutely threatened by habitat loss and overharvesting. Habitat loss is largely driven by widespread deforestation and potentially forest degradation – a decrease in forest quality primarily caused by logging. Some evidence suggests that degradation drives biodiversity loss, while other studies argue that managed forests can preserve species. Belize, a country in the Neotropics, retains 60% of its forest cover but is predicted to lose most of it in the next decade. One proposed method for sustainable forest management is reduced impact logging (RIL). We modeled species occupancy of terrestrial wildlife across RIL and unlogged sites within the Belize Maya Forest and evaluated the effect of anthropogenic and environmental covariates. We provide evidence that managed forests can preserve biodiversity and that the effect of occupancy covariates varies by species.
Open Access
Environmental influences and habitat associations of reticulated giraffes as revealed by camera traps
(2021-04-28) Egna, Nicole
Camera trapping has been used in recent years as a means of assessing species population size and distributions, habitat use, and behavior, thus facilitating knowledge and protection of wildlife and natural ecosystems. One disadvantage of camera trapping is recording false absences, whereby the species is present but not detected by the camera. Dynamic occupancy modeling can be used as an accurate method to address this bias and produce reliable estimates of site occupancy, colonization rates, and extinction rates. These metrics are critical for applications in long-term monitoring programs and meta-population studies and can contribute to species conservation efforts. This study utilizes camera trapping images from Loisaba Conservancy, Laikipia, Kenya between 2016 and 2017. The objectives of this study are threefold: (1) to utilize dynamic occupancy modeling to assess the habitat and environmental correlates influencing the probability of reticulated giraffe occurrence at camera trap sites, (2) to assess whether the presence of livestock displaces giraffe, and (3) to assess the habitat and environmental covariates that impact the presence or absence of giraffe at camera trap sites. This study found that the most significant predictor of declining giraffe presence was year, potentially as a result of the severe drought Kenya experienced in 2017. I also present evidence that giraffes do avoid locations that have recently been occupied by livestock. Understanding the environmental influences and habitat associations of reticulated giraffes is critical for providing information about population changes over time and the factors driving those changes. Thus, this information will increase ecological knowledge of the reticulated giraffe and subsequently aid in their conservation.
Open Access
Spatiotemporal Behavior & Interactions of Neotropical Felids
(2023-04-28) Pepke, Chloe
The intraguild dynamics of apex and meso-carnivores contribute to the structure and resiliency of ecosystems, but temperature change and habitat loss threaten carnivores globally. This study explores the spatial and temporal behavior of four felid species (Puma concolor, Leopardus pardalis, Leopardus wiedii, and Leopardus tigrinus) in the Santa Lucia Cloud Forest Reserve (SL), near Quito, Ecuador. I used camera trap data from 2016 through 2022 to identify felid species and compare temporal trends in activity, distribution, and occupancy in relation to environmental factors. I then used the species-specific models to predict species occupancy in the unmonitored regions of the reserve. These results inform future monitoring efforts and provide insight into the extent of potential interactions among these four felids.