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The use of photographic rates to estimate densities of tigers and other cryptic mammals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 April 2001

C. Carbone
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
S. Christie
Affiliation:
London Zoo, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
K. Conforti
Affiliation:
Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington DC 2008, USA
T. Coulson
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK Current address: Large Animal Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge.
N. Franklin
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of York, York YO1 5DD, UK Sumatran Tiger Project, PO Box 190, Metro, Lampung 34101, Sumatra, Indonesia
J. R. Ginsberg
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, International Programs, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, NY 10460-1099, USA
M. Griffiths
Affiliation:
Leuser Development Programme, Jl. Dr. Mansyur 68, Medan 20154, Sumatra, Indonesia
J. Holden
Affiliation:
Fauna and Flora International, Great Eastern House, Tenison Road, Cambridge CB1 2DT, UK
K. Kawanishi
Affiliation:
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, PO Box 110430, Gainesville, FL, USA
M. Kinnaird
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, International Programs, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, NY 10460-1099, USA
R. Laidlaw
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, International Programs, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, NY 10460-1099, USA
A. Lynam
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, International Programs, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, NY 10460-1099, USA
D. W. Macdonald
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
D. Martyr
Affiliation:
Fauna and Flora International, Great Eastern House, Tenison Road, Cambridge CB1 2DT, UK
C. McDougal
Affiliation:
Tiger Tops, PO Box 242, Kathmandu, Nepal
L. Nath
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
T. O'Brien
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, International Programs, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, NY 10460-1099, USA
J. Seidensticker
Affiliation:
Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington DC 2008, USA
D. J. L. Smith
Affiliation:
Dept of Fisheries and Wildlife, 200 Hodson Hall, 1980 Folwell Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
M. Sunquist
Affiliation:
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, PO Box 110430, Gainesville, FL, USA
R. Tilson
Affiliation:
Sumatran Tiger Project, PO Box 190, Metro, Lampung 34101, Sumatra, Indonesia
W. N. Wan Shahruddin
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, International Programs, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, NY 10460-1099, USA
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Abstract

The monitoring and management of species depends on reliable population estimates, and this can be both difficult and very costly for cryptic large vertebrates that live in forested habitats. Recently developed camera trapping techniques have already been shown to be an effective means of making mark-recapture estimates of individually identifiable animals (e.g. tigers). Camera traps also provide a new method for surveying animal abundance. Through computer simulations, and an analysis of the rates of camera trap capture from 19 studies of tigers across the species' range, we show that the number of camera days/tiger photograph correlates with independent estimates of tiger density. This statistic does not rely on individual identity and is particularly useful for estimating the population density of species that are not individually identifiable. Finally, we used the comparison between observed trapping rates and the computer simulations to estimate the minimum effort required to determine that tigers, or other species, do not exist in an area, a measure that is critical for conservation planning.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2001 The Zoological Society of London

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