Census Techniques

Question 1

medium mammals-

camera trap:
lots of benefits, but could overestimate abundance

track surveys:
68% on 30 day asymptote in 12 days

line transect:
least effective
bias towards diurnal + large animals
easy to overestimate abundance

Answer 1

Silveira et al 2003

Question 2

large mammals-

line transect:
inefficient in dense veg
hard to standardise in heterogenous environment

camera trap + track surveys
observed less common species

baits must be standardised for comparisons

Answer 2

Espartosa et al 2011

Question 3

gibbons-

range mapping:
only possible in navigable terrain

count transects:
accurate density estimate over large areas
can be used in unexplored terrain where other estimates not feasible

Answer 3

Nijman et al 2005

Question 4

butterflies in tropical rainforest-

transect walks (61/81sp) more efficient than kite netting in accumulating individuals and species

but difficulty distinguishing species within some tropical butterfly genera on the wing may prove a limiting factor.

Answer 4

Walpole and Sheldon 1998

Question 5

bird densities-

fixed width line transect:
inflated density
easy to use for large scale monitoring

point counts:
useful for cryptic/sedentary species
can do many at once

territory spot-mapping (BEST):
good for territorial birds in small plots
good for focusing on a few species
too time and energy intensive for large scale

Answer 5

Raman 2003

Question 6

collaboration with local parabiologists

must scale up

people and plants initiative in Sabah
10-19 genera, 48-81 palm taxa

Answer 6

Shiel et al 2004

Question 7

accessing local knowledge

survey in Malinau cost $5000
half or third of conventional cost

especially applicable for distinctive species

Answer 7

Padmadaba et al 2013