Camera traps provide valuable data to assess the occurrence of the Great Curassow Crax rubra in northeastern Costa Rica

Abstract

The Great Curassow (Crax rubra) is an endangered species in Costa Rica due to habitat loss and hunting pressure. Little is known about the spatial ecology of cracids and there is a need to assess their distribution to establish efficient conservation strategies. In this study, we integrated camera trapping data with occupancy models to examine landscape factors that affect the distribution of the Great Curassow in the San Juan-La Selva Biological Corridor in Northeastern Costa Rica. We established remote camera traps at 38 sites within the corridor between July 2009 and July 2011. The Great Curassow was detected on 56 occasions at 19 of the 38 sites. Eight of the 19 occupancy models contained plausible support to predict Great Curassow occurrence, but distance to villages and forest cover were the most important factors positively related to their occurrence. These results suggest the distribution of the Great Curassow is largely susceptible to forest loss and human disturbance in the corridor. Both camera traps and occupancy analyses are useful tools to study medium to large terrestrial birds in the Neotropics.

Keywords

• biological corridor
• camera traps
• Crax
• Great Curassow
• occupancy