Wildlife trail or systematic? Camera trap placement has little effect on estimates of mammal diversity in a tropical forest in Gabon

A variety of factors can affect the biodiversity of tropical mammal communities, but their relative importance and directionality remain uncertain. Previous global investigations of mammal functional diversity have relied on range maps instead of observational data to determine community composition. We test the effects of species pools, habitat heterogeneity, primary productivity and human disturbance on the functional diversity (dispersion and richness) of mammal communities using the largest standardized tropical forest camera trap monitoring system, the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network. We use occupancy values derived from the camera trap data to calculate occupancy-weighted functional diversity and use Bayesian generalized linear regression to determine the effects of multiple predictors. Mammal community functional dispersion increased with primary productivity, while functional richness decreased with human-induced local extinctions and was significantly lower in Madagascar than other tropical regions. The significant positive relationship between functional dispersion and productivity was evident only when functional dispersion was weighted by species' occupancies. Thus, observational data from standardized monitoring can reveal the drivers of mammal communities in ways that are not readily apparent from range map-based studies. The positive association between occupancy-weighted functional dispersion of tropical forest mammal communities and primary productivity suggests that unique functional traits may be more beneficial in more productive ecosystems and may allow species to persist at higher abundances.

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Small mammal diversity along two neighboring Bornean mountains

10.7287/peerj.preprints.26523 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Melissa T. R. Hawkins ◽

Miguel Camacho-Sanchez ◽

Fred Tuh Yit Yuh ◽

Jesus E Maldonado ◽

Jennifer A Leonard

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Success Rate ◽

Elevational Gradient ◽

Camera Trap ◽

High Turnover ◽

Evolutionary Origins ◽

Diversity Gradient ◽

History Of ◽

Climatic History ◽

Mammal Diversity

Biodiversity across elevational gradients generally follows patterns, the evolutionary origins of which are debated. We trapped small non-volant mammals across an elevational gradient on Mount (Mt.) Kinabalu (4,101 m) and Mt. Tambuyukon (2,579 m), two neighboring mountains in Borneo, Malaysia. We also included visual records and camera trap data from Mt. Tambuyukon. On Mt. Tambuyukon we trapped a total of 299 individuals from 23 species in 6,187 trap nights (4.8% success rate). For Mt. Kinabalu we trapped a total 213 animals from 19 species, in 2,044 trap nights, a 10.4% success rate. We documented the highest diversity in the low elevations for both mountains, unlike previous less complete surveys which supported a mid-elevation diversity bulge on Mt. Kinabalu. Species richness decreased gradually towards the highlands to a more even community with different species (high turnover), less rich but with the highest levels of endemism. These patterns suggest that an interplay of topography and climatic history of the region were drivers of the diversity gradient, in addition to standing climatic and spatial hypothesis.

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Stronger together: comparing and integrating camera trap, visual, and dung survey data in tropical forest communities

Ecosphere ◽

10.1002/ecs2.2965 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

Author(s):

Chase L. Nuñez ◽

Graden Froese ◽

Amelia C. Meier ◽

Chris Beirne ◽

Johanna Depenthal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tropical Forest ◽

Survey Data ◽

Camera Trap ◽

Forest Communities

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Mammal diversity among vertical strata and the evaluation of a survey technique in a central Amazonian forest

Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia ◽

10.11606/1807-0205/2021.61.33 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 61 ◽

pp. e20216133

Author(s):

Alexander Roldán Arévalo-Sandi ◽

André Luis Sousa Gonçalves ◽

Kota Onizawa ◽

Tsuneaki Yabe ◽

Wilson Roberto Spironello

Keyword(s):

Camera Trap ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Sampling Effort ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Lowland Forest ◽

Survey Technique ◽

Terrestrial Habitats ◽

Common Technique ◽

The Difference ◽

Mammal Diversity

Mammal groups have a vast variety of habitats, which include aquatic, aerial, arboreal, and terrestrial. For terrestrial habitats, camera traps are used as a common technique to record mammals and other vertebrates and have been recently utilized to observe arboreal animals as well. Here, we compare the difference in mammal diversity between floor and canopy strata and evaluate the use of camera trapping in a lowland forest in central Amazon. We installed nine paired camera traps, one in the canopy stratum and other in the floor stratum, in the Alto Cuieiras Biological Reserve (Brazilian Amazon). With a sampling effort of 720 camera-days, we recorded 30 mammal species: nine in canopy strata, 14 in floor strata, and seven in scansorial strata (sharing both strata). On the forest floor, the species with the greatest abundance was Myoprocta acouchy; in the canopy, Isothrix paguros had the greatest abundance; and among the scansorial species, Proechymis sp. was the most abundant. Our results show the differences in mammal diversity between floor and canopy strata; canopy strata contained more small and frugivorous mammals. Although we obtained a relatively low sampling effort with the camera-trap method compared with other studies utilizing different techniques, our results were especially similar to those of previous studies that worked with canopy and floor strata. Thus, camera trap can be very effective for recording short periods of time, and this method is less physically exhaustive and expensive for researchers to study vertical strata.

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Small mammal diversity along two neighboring Bornean mountains

10.7287/peerj.preprints.26523v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Melissa T. R. Hawkins ◽

Miguel Camacho-Sanchez ◽

Fred Tuh Yit Yuh ◽

Jesus E Maldonado ◽

Jennifer A Leonard

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Success Rate ◽

Elevational Gradient ◽

Camera Trap ◽

High Turnover ◽

Evolutionary Origins ◽

Diversity Gradient ◽

History Of ◽

Climatic History ◽

Mammal Diversity

Biodiversity across elevational gradients generally follows patterns, the evolutionary origins of which are debated. We trapped small non-volant mammals across an elevational gradient on Mount (Mt.) Kinabalu (4,101 m) and Mt. Tambuyukon (2,579 m), two neighboring mountains in Borneo, Malaysia. We also included visual records and camera trap data from Mt. Tambuyukon. On Mt. Tambuyukon we trapped a total of 299 individuals from 23 species in 6,187 trap nights (4.8% success rate). For Mt. Kinabalu we trapped a total 213 animals from 19 species, in 2,044 trap nights, a 10.4% success rate. We documented the highest diversity in the low elevations for both mountains, unlike previous less complete surveys which supported a mid-elevation diversity bulge on Mt. Kinabalu. Species richness decreased gradually towards the highlands to a more even community with different species (high turnover), less rich but with the highest levels of endemism. These patterns suggest that an interplay of topography and climatic history of the region were drivers of the diversity gradient, in addition to standing climatic and spatial hypothesis.

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