Evaluation of the application of methods used to detect and monitor selected mammalian taxa to pangolin monitoring

Abstract

Standardised methods to monitor populations of many species are lacking but are important for detecting presence, changes in populations and species status, and for conservation management. Pangolins (Family: Manidae), are one such group of mammals that are native to Africa and Asia. Here, we conduct a systematic review of methods used to detect and monitor populations of species ecologically similar to pangolins to inform the development of pangolin monitoring methods. The primary question of this review is: how effective have methods been at detecting and monitoring populations of species ecologically similar to pangolins? We also investigated their applicability to each species of pangolin, considering the lessons learnt from the identified studies. Of the 379 articles identified by Web of Science, 159 were included, and supplemented with 87 studies from Google Scholar searches. In total, across all studies and 24 taxonomic groups, 28 different survey methods were used to detect and/or monitor the selected taxa. Based on this review, several methods have potential application to the different pangolin species. Camera-trapping may be useful for monitoring all species of pangolin, including the arboreal species. Burrow counts could be used to monitor fossorial pangolins, but there are several challenges to using this method including correct identification of burrows and identifying the ways in which pangolins use burrows/dens. Keywords: Burrow count, Camera-trap, Conservation, Manidae, Population