Avian Conservation and Ecology (Dec 2020)
The use of a camera trap and acoustic survey design to ascertain the vocalization and breeding status of the highly elusive White-winged Flufftail, Sarothrura ayresi
Abstract
The critically endangered White-winged Flufftail, Sarothrura ayresi, was first described in 1877 and yet significant data deficiencies in the vocalization and breeding status of this species still exist. This species currently faces a high extinction risk, largely due to extensive habitat loss, and respective data deficiencies have hampered conservation efforts. The species' elusive behavior, cryptic coloration, and preference for densely vegetated wetland habitats has resulted in traditional survey methods being ineffective in addressing these data deficiencies. Our study employed a survey design combining camera traps and passive acoustic monitoring to address significant and critical data deficiencies related to the breeding and vocalization characterization of the species. This method successfully established that this species does not breed exclusively in the Ethiopian Highlands and that an additional breeding population exists in South Africa. The combined use of camera and acoustic data allowed for the confirmation of the species vocalizations and allows for the refuting of calls previously attributed to the species. Additionally, this method allowed for the assessment of activity patterns relative to demographics (age and gender). With the call confirmed, and breeding range redefined, we recommend the use of passive acoustic monitoring as a rapid means of noninvasively identifying the presence of this highly elusive species at other sites across its range in order to bolster conservation efforts for this critically endangered species. Additionally, our results confirm that passive acoustic monitoring can provide more robust datasets and assess a range of ecological facets noninvasively, while yielding presence records more rapidly than alternate methods such as call-broadcasts, walked transects, and flushing.
