Tourist photographs as a scalable framework for wildlife monitoring in protected areas.

摘要: Protected areas are critical to conservation efforts in the face of rapid biodiversity declines [1]. Yet resources for often limited and shared amongst many competing priorities [2]. As a consequence, even basic monitoring surveys absent within most protected [3]. Although range wildlife methods exist, considerable focused survey effort is required yield accurate precise estimates [4]. This makes difficult sustain or replicate, limiting access data evidence-based decisions. Citizen-scientists have been proposed as an important complement finite available [5]; however, full potential this approach has yet be realised. Wildlife tourists guides especially focussed on encountering photographing fauna flora, collected these rarely harnessed areas. A detailed understanding photographic tourism's role lacking, but essential development new tools harness being through tourism. Here, we demonstrate that tourist-contributed can aid by providing population large carnivores comparable those from traditional methods. Our could capitalize upon immense number photographs taken daily part global > 30-billion USD, wildlife-based tourism industry.