Theriologia Ukrainica (Jun 2021)
The experience of low-resource fauna research by using camera traps
Abstract
The tasks of managing animal populations (conservation, exploitation, and control) require reliable initial information for their implementation. This information includes a number of parameters: spatial distribution, annual and daily cycles of activity, abundance and its dynamics, ecosystem relationships, reproduction, nutrition, mortality, and others. Of this broad set, abundance and territorial distribution are of basic importance. They affect all other parameters. However, these indicators are the most sensitive to the influence of factors of qualification and motivation of the performer. The solution to this problem leads to searching for ways to unify methods in order to reduce errors in the assessment. One of the solutions to this problem is the introduction of technical means such as camera traps. Camera traps have become an increasingly popular tool in wildlife research. With its help, the following tasks are solved: assessment of the number and spatial distribution of animals, daily and seasonal activity, and much more. This tool avoids the factor of subjectivity. At the same time, in our conditions, the price of a camera trap is high for a researcher. However, the methodological requirements for the study require the use of more than ten cameras. Thus, it becomes necessary to comprehend low-resource research and the results that they can bring. During 2018, research was carried out in the territory of the Chornobyl Reserve using six camera traps. The placement of camera traps was not systematic, but corresponded to the diversity of habitats. The objects of research were such representatives of mammals as the elk, deer, wolf, roe deer, wild boar, fox, raccoon dog, and hare. They are the ones that make up the set of species that can be effectively captured by a camera trap. The following results were obtained: daily activity, spatial distribution, quantitative characteristics of groups. As the results have shown, even a small number of camera traps makes it possible to assess the presence of the largest animals and their daily activity. It should be noted that this group of species is of the greatest interest from the viewpoint of regulation and protection. Numerical parameters such as quantity and relative abundance cannot be used for estimation. This is due to the high sensitivity to local conditions.
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