Estimating density for species conservation: Comparing camera trap spatial count models to genetic spatial capture-recapture models

摘要: Abstract Density estimation is integral to the effective conservation and management of wildlife. Camera traps in conjunction with spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models have been used accurately precisely estimate densities “marked” wildlife populations comprising identifiable individuals. The emergence count (SC) holds promise for cost-effective density “unmarked” when individuals are not identifiable. We evaluated model agreement, precision, survey costs, between i) a fully marked approach using SCR fit non-invasive genetic data, ii) an unmarked SC camera trap recovering population mesocarnivore fisher (Pekania pennanti). estimates ranged from 2.95 3.42 (2.18–5.19 95% BCI) fishers 100 km−2. were influenced by their priors, ranging 0.95 (0.65–2.95 100 km−2 uninformative 3.60 (2.01–7.55 100 km−2 informed prior knowledge 16 km2 home range. caution against strongly informative priors but instead recommend range unweighted knowledge. Thin detection data was problematic both models, potentially producing biased low estimates. total cost ($47 610) two-thirds ($77 080), or comparable ($75 746) if sampling effort increased include sex trap-behaviour covariates models. continues be series trade-offs as methods improve integrate, so will our