The application of camera trapping to assess Rallidae species richness within palustrine wetland habitat in South Africa
| Autor: | Robin B Colyn, Alastair M Campbell, Hanneline Smit-Robinson |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
geography geography.geographical_feature_category Ecology Wetland vegetation Non invasive food and beverages Wetland Biology 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences 010605 ornithology Ecosystem services Survey methodology Habitat camera trapping conservation non-invasive rallid species richness wetlands Species richness Palustrine wetland Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
| Zdroj: | Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology; Vol 88, No 3 (2017); 235-245 |
| ISSN: | 1727-947X 0030-6525 |
| DOI: | 10.2989/00306525.2017.1292562 |
| Popis: | Wetlands are vital habitats for a variety of organisms and ecosystem services, but the health of these valuable habitats is declining worldwide. The Rallidae species that rely on these habitats are typically elusive, cryptic and difficult to monitor accurately, especially in dense wetland vegetation. To date, invasive survey techniques such as rope dragging have largely been applied in surveying species within these genera. A survey of palustrine wetland habitat using camera traps was implemented to ascertain the efficacy of this non-invasive monitoring technique for surveying elusive wetland avian species. The survey yielded a total of 445 independent sightings across 15 target wetland species, including four Rallidae species. Our results clearly display that camera trapping as a non-invasive survey technique can effectively determine the presence and monitor arguably the most cryptic and elusive of the Rallidae genera within southern Africa. In addition, data sets produced through this survey technique are unique in that robust data are collected incorporating numerous aspects of species biology and behaviour. Our study further demonstrated the ability of camera trapping to produce accurate, reliable and rapid species inventories within palustrine wetland habitats.Keywords: camera trapping, conservation, non-invasive, rallid, species richness, wetlands |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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