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Burton, A. C., Neilson, E., Moreira, D., Ladle, A., Steenweg, R., Fisher, J. T., et al. (2015). REVIEW: Wildlife camera trapping: a review and recommendations for linking surveys to ecological processes. J Appl Ecol, 52(3), 675–685.
Abstract: Summary Reliable assessment of animal populations is a long-standing challenge in wildlife ecology. Technological advances have led to widespread adoption of camera traps (CTs) to survey wildlife distribution, abundance and behaviour. As for any wildlife survey method, camera trapping must contend with sources of sampling error such as imperfect detection. Early applications focused on density estimation of naturally marked species, but there is growing interest in broad-scale CT surveys of unmarked populations and communities. Nevertheless, inferences based on detection indices are controversial, and the suitability of alternatives such as occupancy estimation is debatable. We reviewed 266 CT studies published between 2008 and 2013. We recorded study objectives and methodologies, evaluating the consistency of CT protocols and sampling designs, the extent to which CT surveys considered sampling error, and the linkages between analytical assumptions and species ecology. Nearly two-thirds of studies surveyed more than one species, and a majority used response variables that ignored imperfect detection (e.g. presence?absence, relative abundance). Many studies used opportunistic sampling and did not explicitly report details of sampling design and camera deployment that could affect conclusions. Most studies estimating density used capture?recapture methods on marked species, with spatially explicit methods becoming more prominent. Few studies estimated density for unmarked species, focusing instead on occupancy modelling or measures of relative abundance. While occupancy studies estimated detectability, most did not explicitly define key components of the modelling framework (e.g. a site) or discuss potential violations of model assumptions (e.g. site closure). Studies using relative abundance relied on assumptions of equal detectability, and most did not explicitly define expected relationships between measured responses and underlying ecological processes (e.g. animal abundance and movement). Synthesis and applications. The rapid adoption of camera traps represents an exciting transition in wildlife survey methodology. We remain optimistic about the technology's promise, but call for more explicit consideration of underlying processes of animal abundance, movement and detection by cameras, including more thorough reporting of methodological details and assumptions. Such transparency will facilitate efforts to evaluate and improve the reliability of camera trap surveys, ultimately leading to stronger inferences and helping to meet modern needs for effective ecological inquiry and biodiversity monitoring.
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Edwards, P. J., & Hollis, S. (1982). The Distribution of Excreta on New Forest Grassland Used by Cattle, Ponies and Deer. J Appl Ecol, 19(3), 953–964.
Abstract: (1) The distribution of excreta on areas of reseeded grassland in the New Forest used by free-ranging cattle, ponies and fallow deer was shown to be non-random. Distinct latrine areas were recognized where the faeces of all three herbivore species were concentrated, and where the majority of urinations occurred. The mosaic of latrine and non-latrine areas can be detected in aerial photographs in which non-latrine areas appear as light-grey patches set in a matrix of the dark grey latrine areas. During the 3 years of the study the position of the mosaic proved to be relatively stable. (2) The latrine areas were characterized by an uneven sward about 50 mm tall with abundant thistles (Cirsium spp.) and ragwort (Senecio jacobaea). Non-latrine areas had an even and very closely cropped sward between 10 and 20 mm tall. Soil chemical analysis of the two kinds of area revealed significantly higher levels of exchangeable potassium in latrine areas, and on one site significantly higher levels of magnesium and organic matter. No significant differences were detected in soil reaction, nor in phosphorus or calcium levels. (3) Observations of grazing animals revealed a tendency, at all times of year, for ponies to avoid grazing in latrine areas. In winter and spring this tendency was very slight, but from midsummer until late autumn a substantial majority of grazing ponies were to be found in non-latrine areas. In contrast, only 2% of the cattle observations made over a period of 20 months were of animals grazing in non-latrine areas. (4) The standing crop of dung and the rate of dung production on the two kinds of area were monitored for 12 months on one lawn. The amount of pony dung produced on non-latrine areas was only 16.5% of that in latrine areas, while for cattle the corresponding value was 28.7%. It is argued that the observed pattern has been created by selective grazing and eliminatory behaviour of the ponies, and that the excreta of cattle and deer are largely confined to pony latrine areas because these animals are unable to graze the very short herbage of non-latrine areas.
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Negi, G. C. S., Rikhari, H. C., Ram, J., & Singh, S. P. (1993). Foraging Niche Characteristics of Horses, Sheep and Goats in an Alpine Meadow of the Indian Central Himalaya. J. Appl. Ecol, 30(3), 383–394.
Abstract: 1. Data on plant species foraged, foraging hours, bite rate, bite size and species dry matter (DM) removed per species per bite were collected in tussock grass-forb (Grass-F), forb-tussock grass (Forb-G), Trachydium-forb (Forb), Rhododendron-Cassiope and early successional communities from May to September in a moderately foraged Central Himalayan alpine meadow in order to study the foraging niche characteristics of horses, sheep and goats. 2. The three animals together grazed 30 plant species, of which 20 were grazed by horses, 22 by sheep and 16 by goats. 3. The average foraging hours (5.2-13.2), bites per minute (23-51) and mg DM per bite (59-99) for horses, sheep and goats were significantly different in different communities and months. 4. The foraging search cost, reckoned as distance walked per unit DM eaten, was highest for goats (15.4 km kg$^{-1}$), followed by sheep (8.1 km kg$^{-1}$) and horses (1.2 km kg$^{-1}$). 5. Of the total intake of horses (3.25 kg DM day$^{-1}$), the Forb community alone accounted for 40%. Sheep (0.74 kg DM day$^{-1}$) resembled horses in this respect. In contrast, the contribution of this community was negligible in the diet of goats in which the Grass-F community contributed most to the intake. 6. Forbs were the largest dietary category for all animal species. The selection ratio varied from 0.7 to 11.3 for forbs, 1.0 to 7.2 for sedges and 1.1 to 2.5 for grasses. 7. Response breadth (in terms of species grazed) was similar for horses and sheep (0.46 vs. 0.43) and somewhat wider for goats (0.49). 8. Grazing pressures below the carrying capacity of the community appeared to favour botanical diversity.
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Strien, A. J., Swaay, C. A. M., & Termaat, T. (2013). Opportunistic citizen science data of animal species produce reliable estimates of distribution trends if analysed with occupancy models. J Appl Ecol, 50(6), 1450–1458.
Abstract: Summary Many publications documenting large-scale trends in the distribution of species make use of opportunistic citizen data, that is, observations of species collected without standardized field protocol and without explicit sampling design. It is a challenge to achieve reliable estimates of distribution trends from them, because opportunistic citizen science data may suffer from changes in field efforts over time (observation bias), from incomplete and selective recording by observers (reporting bias) and from geographical bias. These, in addition to detection bias, may lead to spurious trends. We investigated whether occupancy models can correct for the observation, reporting and detection biases in opportunistic data. Occupancy models use detection/nondetection data and yield estimates of the percentage of occupied sites (occupancy) per year. These models take the imperfect detection of species into account. By correcting for detection bias, they may simultaneously correct for observation and reporting bias as well. We compared trends in occupancy (or distribution) of butterfly and dragonfly species derived from opportunistic data with those derived from standardized monitoring data. All data came from the same grid squares and years, in order to avoid any geographical bias in this comparison. Distribution trends in opportunistic and monitoring data were well-matched. Strong trends observed in monitoring data were rarely missed in opportunistic data. Synthesis and applications. Opportunistic data can be used for monitoring purposes if occupancy models are used for analysis. Occupancy models are able to control for the common biases encountered with opportunistic data, enabling species trends to be monitored for species groups and regions where it is not feasible to collect standardized data on a large scale. Opportunistic data may thus become an important source of information to track distribution trends in many groups of species.
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