Review
Genetics & Heredity
Andrea Miranda Paez, Mekala Sundaram, Janna R. Willoughby
Summary: The study suggests that trapping and less invasive methods yield similar results in estimating wildlife population sizes, with the latter typically detecting more individuals. In addition, the method of analyzing camera data can significantly impact population size estimates, with spatial information resulting in larger estimates.
Article
Ecology
Aaron M. Grade, Paige S. Warren, Susannah B. Lerman
Summary: Increased urbanization leads to habitat loss, but residential land has potential for mammal habitat. This study investigates the variation in mammal community composition within residential lands across an urban gradient. The results show that land-use context and parcel habitat features both influence the mammal community, with different species associated with different sites. The findings highlight the importance of informed residential yard management for urban wildlife management.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Zhouyuan Li, Zhuo Tang, Yanjie Xu, Yingying Wang, Zhaogang Duan, Xuehua Liu, Pengyan Wang, Jian Yang, Wei Chen, Herbert H. T. Prins
Summary: The study used infrared-triggered camera trapping in Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan, China to monitor wildlife and biodiversity, identifying temperature and vegetation as key environmental drivers affecting mammal and bird distribution and abundance. Species were categorized into cold-resistant, phyllophilic, and thermophilic types based on these factors, with bharal, Moupin pika, Himalayan marmot, snow partridge, plain mountain finch, Chinese monal, and alpine accentor being the most abundant species.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Giacomo Cremonesi, Francesco Bisi, Lorenzo Gaffi, Thet Zaw, Hla Naing, Kyaw Moe, Zarni Aung, Maria V. Mazzamuto, Alessandra Gagliardi, Lucas A. Wauters, Damiano G. Preatoni, Adriano Martinoli
Summary: Tropical forests, especially in Myanmar, are heavily impacted by human disturbances, leading to lower mammal diversity in disturbed areas. Camera trap data and occupancy models were used to evaluate biodiversity levels and ecosystem functions, revealing a significant decrease in carnivores and herbivores in degraded areas. This study provides insights into the direct and indirect effects of human disruptions on wildlife populations in Myanmar's tropical forests.
Article
Ecology
Bruno D. Suarez-Tangil, Alejandro Rodriguez
Summary: Monitoring local occupancy and regional distribution of wild mammals is crucial for guiding species management and conservation priorities. Spatio-temporal factors were found to have little impact on the efficiency of widely-used detection methods in a heterogeneous landscape. Among the methods tested, track surveys were identified as the most efficient for surveying mammals in the study landscapes. Efforts should focus on maintaining high detection efficiency across various environmental conditions and considering spatio-temporal factors as potential sources of variation in large-scale mammal monitoring programs.
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Aaron Bertoia, Tara Murray, Bruce C. C. Robertson, Joanne M. M. Monks
Summary: Appropriate sampling methods are crucial for monitoring and managing wildlife. This study investigates different survey methods for ground-dwelling invertebrates in the alpine zone and recommends pitfall traps as the most practical and cost-effective option. Pitfall traps and trail cameras were effective in surveying alpine invertebrates, while tracking tunnels and visual surveys had limitations. Pitfall traps were found to have consistent results across different alpine habitats and can provide valuable information for conservation monitoring and management programs.
JOURNAL OF INSECT CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Samantha S. Mason, Russell A. Hill, Mark J. Whittingham, Jim Cokill, Graham C. Smith, Philip A. Stephens, Marcus Rowcliffe
Summary: Accurate and precise density estimates are crucial for effective species management and conservation. Camera trap distance sampling (CTDS) has been used successfully to estimate densities of multiple species in relatively homogeneous landscapes. In this study, CTDS was used in a diverse habitat area in the United Kingdom, resulting in density estimates that largely fell within previously published ranges and were among the most precise produced for these species to date. Although species-specific decisions are still required, CTDS shows potential for national-scale use.
REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alessio Mortelliti, Allison M. Brehm, Bryn E. Evans
Summary: Developing cost-effective monitoring protocols is crucial for wildlife conservation agencies worldwide. This study applied the 'umbrella species' concept to test the effectiveness of protocols developed for American marten in detecting occupancy trends for other mammalian species. The results showed that the American marten protocols could have an umbrella effect on other 11 mammal species.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Jaime Arriaga, Gabriela Medellin, Elena Ojeda, Paulo Salles
Summary: This study proposes a self-fed image stabilization algorithm to solve the camera movements and generate georeferenced images. The algorithm's performance is assessed by comparing the stabilized images with a second set of georeferenced images created using multiple calibrations. The results show that image stabilization can significantly reduce errors in shoreline position and improve the accuracy of long-term trends.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Julie Rode, Claire Lambert, Lucile Marescot, Bastien Chaix, Julie Beesau, Suzanne Bastian, Joldoshbek Kyrbashev, Anne-Lise Cabanat
Summary: The study in Naryn State Nature Reserve in Kyrgyzstan using snow leopard camera trapping over four seasons revealed a minimal population of at least five adult snow leopards, with balanced reproduction and frequent interactions observed. It is recommended to extend stricter protection measures to the buffer and Ulan areas to prevent poaching on these apex predators and their prey.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Nick A. Littlewood, Mark H. Hancock, Scott Newey, Gorm Shackelford, Rose Toney
Summary: Using camera traps for monitoring small mammals is a cost-effective and labor-efficient method, which involves attaching cameras to baited tunnels, adding close-focus lenses to the camera trap lenses, and reducing flash intensity for obtaining high-quality images or videos for species identification. Research findings show that rodents are mainly found in plantation forestry and restoration areas, while shrews are distributed across all habitats.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chase M. Freeman, Laureen Barthman-Thompson, Robert Klinger, Isa Woo, Karen M. Thorne
Summary: This study evaluated the optimal sampling design for tracking small mammal population trends using spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) models. The results showed that moderate reductions in the number of trapping occasions or trap density could yield similar density estimates when using a SECR approach.
Article
Zoology
Ping Sun, Prosper Umuntunundi, Torsten Wronski
Summary: This study examined the effectiveness of using the Eastern chimpanzee as a flagship species in the Gishwati-Mukura National Park in Rwanda. The results showed that prioritizing the chimpanzee led to the neglect of other mammalian species and resulted in the decline of functional guilds.
Article
Zoology
Ilaria Agostini, Esteban Pizzio, Diego Varela, Maria Eugenia Iezzi, Paula Cruz, Agustin Paviolo, Mario S. Di Bitetti
Summary: This study compared the assemblage of arboreal mammals surveyed using canopy camera trapping and ground-level camera trapping in the Atlantic Forest of Argentina. The results showed that canopy camera trapping can capture arboreal species that are missed in ground-level surveys, thus improving forest species inventories.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Chai-Sheng Wen, Chin-Feng Lin, Shun-Hsyung Chang
Summary: This study develops a passive acoustic monitoring system using empirical mode decomposition, energy characteristics analysis, and entropy of information theory to detect marine mammal vocalizations in complex marine environments. The proposed detection algorithm involves five main steps and four signal feature extraction and analysis algorithms. Experimental results show that the CESED detector outperforms the other three detectors in signal detection and achieves efficient sound detection of marine mammals.
Article
Forestry
Ellen Rochelmeyer, Julian Di Stefano, Annalie Dorph, Matthew Swan
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2019)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Holly Sitters, Julian Di Stefano
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Forestry
Annalie Dorph, Matthew Swan, Ellen Rochelmeyer, Julian Di Stefano
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Matthew Swan, Fiona Christie, Erin Steel, Holly Sitters, Alan York, Julian Di Stefano
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Matthew Swan, Mark Le Pla, Julian Di Stefano, Jack Pascoe, Trent D. Penman
Summary: Species distribution models are important tools for biodiversity conservation, particularly in understanding the impact of climate, fire, vegetation, and topography on ground-dwelling mammal distributions. The study found that climate is the primary driver of habitat suitability for most species, while time since fire only significantly affects the distribution of two out of 16 modelled species.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Annalie Dorph, Matthew Swan, Julian Di Stefano, Trent D. Penman
Summary: Understanding the relationships between spatial pattern, spatial scale and biodiversity is crucial for assessing the impacts of environmental change on species richness. Our study found that both composition and configuration of environmental factors play important roles, with the strength and presence of relationships varying across different spatial scales. Patterns in NDVI, time since fire, habitat complexity, and elevation were identified as having the strongest effects on mammal species richness.
Article
Ecology
Lauren Delaney, Julian Di Stefano, Holly Sitters
Summary: This study explores how interactions between fire history, landscape context, and matrix availability influence mammal responses in human-modified landscapes, highlighting the importance of considering these factors in fire management for better conservation outcomes.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rachel Nalliah, Holly Sitters, Amy Smith, Julian Di Stefano
Summary: The study investigated the interrelationships between the endangered heath mouse, fire, resource availability, and introduced fox in southeast Australia, revealing that heath mouse abundance is influenced by shrub cover, plant-group diversity, and fox relative abundance, mediated by post-fire age class.
ANIMAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Emily F. Hynes, Desley A. Whisson, Julian Di Stefano
Summary: Plantation harvesting has minimal impact on resident koalas, with most of them safely dispersing to adjacent plantations during and after the harvest. The survival of koalas during the process is attributed to active efforts to guide them away from harm and facilitate their movement to nearby areas. Future research should focus on the influence of landscape context on harvested plantations.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Geofe O. Cadiz, Jane G. Cawson, Thomas J. Duff, Trent D. Penman, Alan York, Claire Farrell
Summary: Understanding the abundance of different plant species can provide insights into the properties of vegetation communities, such as flammability. Water and light play important roles in influencing plant growth and abundance, which in turn affects the flammability of forest ecosystems. Our study found that drought and shade have independent effects on wiregrass growth, biomass allocation, and leaf morphology, supporting the hypothesis of uncoupled impacts.
Article
Forestry
Christopher J. Weston, Julian Di Stefano, Samuel Hislop, Liubov Volkova
Summary: Climate change is expanding the wildfire-burnt areas in seasonally dry forests worldwide, prompting a need for revising management strategies. Prescribed burning and mechanical thinning are effective in reducing wildfire risk, with the latter being less commonly used in Australia. The study shows that managing fuel load through thinning and prescribed burning can significantly decrease wildfire severity and risk.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Saumya Wanniarachchi, Matthew Swan, Paul Nevil, Alan York
Summary: Food acquisition is crucial in influencing animal distribution and abundance. Utilizing eDNA metabarcoding allows for a more comprehensive understanding of animal diets and how they change over time.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Sandra Penman, Pia Lentini, Bradley Law, Alan York
Summary: This study provides a starting point for incorporating terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) methods into ecological research and monitoring. A case study from a temperate forest in Australia is used to demonstrate the workflow and R code for processing TLS data and extracting vegetation structure metrics relevant to wildlife habitat. The study highlights the value of three-dimensional data obtained through TLS in wildlife studies and its potential for exploring advanced ecological and conservation questions.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Geofe O. Cadiz, Jane G. Cawson, Trent D. Penman, Alan York, Thomas J. Duff
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2020)