Density of wild felids in Sonora, Mexico: a comparison of spatially explicit capture-recapture methods

Anile, Stefano; Nielsen, Clayton K.

doi:10.1007/s10344-020-01401-1

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…This study provides further evidence that the SPIM package can provide robust density estimates, comparable to conventional SCR methods, whilst improving precision for partial identity samples (Augustine et al ., 2018; Greenspan et al ., 2020). As SCR methods are widely used to inform conservation management, and partial identity is a common problem for researchers, any gain in precision should be of broad interest (Augustine et al ., 2018; Johansson et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The potential to survey a protected area using half the number of camera traps used in conventional designs is highly advantageous for protected area managers, the majority of whom have limited budgets (Mansourian & Dudley, 2008). The use of SPIM also allows a wider survey area to be used, when camera numbers are limited, resulting in a greater proportion of the population being sampled (Foster & Harmsen, 2012; Mohamed et al ., 2019; Greenspan et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The potential gains in precision from using SPIM are greater for populations at low density, where single‐flank captures can be linked with increased certainty, and SPIM could therefore be beneficial to future survey efforts (Augustine et al ., 2018). We recommend that the trade‐offs between dual‐ and single‐camera stations are considered on a case‐by‐case basis, but the use of SPIM offers a novel solution to issues with camera trap survey design and analysis (Augustine et al ., 2018; Greenspan et al ., 2020). We suggest further camera trapping efforts to estimate large carnivore populations in miombo woodlands and other understudied regions, coupled with the use of SPIM where necessary, to provide robust estimates for effective conservation management.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial partial identity model reveals low densities of leopard and spotted hyaena in a miombo woodland

et al. 2020

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Decline in global carnivore populations has led to increased demand for assessment of carnivore densities in understudied habitats. Spatial capture-recapture (SCR) is used increasingly to estimate species densities, where individuals are often identified from their unique pelage patterns. However, uncertainty in bilateral individual identification can lead to the omission of capture data and reduce the precision of results. The recent development of the two-flank spatial partial identity model (SPIM) offers a cost-effective approach, which can reduce uncertainty in individual identity assignment and provide robust density estimates. We conducted camera trap surveys annually between 2016 and 2018 in Kasungu National Park, Malawi, a primary miombo woodland and a habitat lacking baseline data on carnivore densities. We used SPIM to estimate density for leopard (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) and compared estimates with conventional SCR methods. Density estimates were low across survey years, when compared to estimates from sub-Saharan Africa, for both leopard (1.9 AE 0.19 SD adults/100 km 2) and spotted hyaena (1.15 AE 0.42 SD adults/100 km 2). Estimates from SPIM improved precision compared with analytical alternatives. Lion (Panthera leo) and wild dog (Lycaon pictus) were absent from the 2016 survey, but lone dispersers were recorded in 2017 and 2018, and both species appear limited to transient individuals from within the wider transfrontier conservation area. Low densities may reflect low carrying capacity in miombo woodlands or be a result of reduced prey availability from intensive poaching. We provide the first leopard density estimates from Malawi and a miombo woodland habitat, whilst demonstrating that SPIM is beneficial for density estimation in surveys where only one camera trap per location is deployed. The low density of large carnivores requires urgent management to reduce the loss of the carnivore guild in Kasungu National Park and across the wider transfrontier landscape.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial partial identity model reveals low densities of leopard and spotted hyaena in a miombo woodland

et al. 2020

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“…It would be expected that if the differences in our predicted home range sizes across ecoregions are representative of jaguar spatial needs, there should be a general correlation between home range size with densities. 16 To test this, we compared density estimates from our study ecoregions [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] with mean estimates of home range size for our study ecoregions (Figure S1; Table S5), finding a correlation (r = À0.70) between smaller home range size and higher jaguar densities in productive systems such as the Pantanal, Llanos, and southwestern Amazon, and lower densities and larger home ranges in semi-arid ecoregions with lower productivity and forest cover, including the Caatinga, Cerrado, Sonoran-Sinaloan subtropical dry forest, and Dry Chaco.…”

Section: Factors Associated With Home Range Size and Movement Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and anthropogenic factors synergistically affect space use of jaguars

et al. 2021

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“…The jaguar ( Panthera onca ) is rare in Mexico and the USA (Jedrzejewski et al, 2018), and data are particularly sparse for populations in the northernmost extent of the species' distribution, where jaguar population densities are among the lowest in their range (Greenspan et al, 2020; Gutiérrez‐González et al, 2012; Jedrzejewski et al, 2018). Jaguars are classified as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; Quigley et al, 2017); however, when evaluated individually, jaguar populations in every region except the Amazon would be classified as endangered or critically endangered according to IUCN listing criteria and methodology (de la Torre et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating presence‐only and occupancy data to model habitat use for the northernmost population of jaguars

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Theobald³

et al. 2022

Ecological Applications

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Species distribution models (SDMs) have become an essential tool for the management and conservation of imperiled species. However, many at-risk species are rare and characterized by limited data on their spatial distribution and habitat relationships. This has led to the development of SDMs that integrate multiple types and sources of data to leverage more information and provide improved predictions of habitat associations. We developed a novel integrated species distribution model to predict habitat suitability for jaguars (Panthera onca) in the border region between northern Mexico and the southwestern USA. Our model combined presence-only and occupancy data to identify key environmental correlates, and we used model results to develop a probability of use map. We adopted a logistic regression modeling framework, which we found to be more straightforward and less computationally intensive to fit than Poisson point process-based models. Model results suggested that high terrain ruggedness and the presence of riparian vegetation were most strongly related to habitat use by jaguars in our study region. Our best model, on average, predicted that there is currently 25,463 km 2 of usable habitat in our study region. The United States portion of the study region, which makes up 38.6% of the total area, contained 40.6% of the total usable habitat. Even though there have been few detections of jaguars in the southwestern USA in recent decades, our results suggest that protection of currently suitable habitats, along with increased conservation efforts, could significantly contribute to the recovery of jaguars in the USA.

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Density of wild felids in Sonora, Mexico: a comparison of spatially explicit capture-recapture methods

Cited by 20 publications

References 79 publications

Spatial partial identity model reveals low densities of leopard and spotted hyaena in a miombo woodland

Spatial partial identity model reveals low densities of leopard and spotted hyaena in a miombo woodland

Environmental and anthropogenic factors synergistically affect space use of jaguars

Integrating presence‐only and occupancy data to model habitat use for the northernmost population of jaguars

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