The validity and precision of spotlighting for surveying desert mammal communities

Scott, Dawn M.; Waite, Stephen; Maddox, Tom; Freer, Rachel; Dunstone, Nigel

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2004.09.008

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This contributed to low sighting frequencies and consequently, poor precision. Other authors have reported similar difficulties (Mahon et al 1998;Edwards et al 2000;Heydon et al 2000;Scott et al 2005) and some suggest spotlighting only where visibility is good. Table 3.…”

Section: Methodological Performancementioning

confidence: 71%

“…To compare the costs of landscape-scale surveys, it was first necessary to determine the number of replicates required at each sample unit (site). We assumed this to be the mean number of replicates required to stabilize CV for each method, which we calculated by graphically plotting the CV of cumulative mean relative abundance against increasing sampling effort (Waite 2000;Scott et al 2005).…”

Section: Methodological Comparisonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative Efficacy of Sign Surveys, Spotlighting and Audio Playbacks in a Landscape-Scale Carnivore Survey

Thorn

Green

Bateman

et al. 2010

South African Journal of Wildlife Research

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Many carnivores are difficult and labour-intensive to detect, often leading to prohibitively high effort and cost in large-scale surveys. However, such studies provide information that is important for effective management and conservation. Here, we evaluate the suitability of three survey methods for landscape-scale multi-species monitoring. We compare sign surveys, spotlighting, and audio playbacks in terms of detection efficiency, precision, effort, and cost. Sign surveys out-performed the other methods in all comparison criteria, although supplementary methods were needed for some species and sites. We found that using established analysis techniques, robust landscape-scale abundance estimates would require unrealistically high effort and cost. Occupancy estimation required considerably lower sample sizes and was therefore more economical. We conclude that sign-based occupancy estimates constitute a versatile and efficient option for future large-scale, multi-species carnivore surveys.

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Section: Methodological Performancementioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Methodological Comparisonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Efficacy of Sign Surveys, Spotlighting and Audio Playbacks in a Landscape-Scale Carnivore Survey

Thorn

Green

Bateman

et al. 2010

South African Journal of Wildlife Research

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“…Wind direction had also an influence, but no other weather factor affected their counts. In an arid region of Jordan, moonlight had a varied effect on spotlight counts of cape hare (Lepus capensis), but with similar densities during full and no moon (Scott et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spotlighting (spotlight count or night lighting) is widely used to survey mammals during night (Scott et al, 2005;Sunde and Jessen, 2013). This is a favored method of estimating abundance due to its efficiency, repeatability and no necessity for animals capture (Langbein et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, numerous studies have shown that several factors can affect the spotlight counts of mammals. These include the animal's activity patterns and behaviour (Brown and Peinke, 2007), visibility (Parkes, 2001; Barnes and Tapper, 1985), relief and amount of vegetation cover (Ralls and Eberhardt 1997;Langbein et al, 1999;Tizzani et al, 2013), observer experience (Sunde and Jessen, 2013), time of night and moonlight (Langbein et al, 1999;Scott et al, 2005) and weather conditions (Langbein et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do Weather and Moon Have Any Influence on Spotlighting Mammals? The Case of Hare in Upland Ecosystem

Sokos¹

2015

Appl Ecol Env Res

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Abstract. Nocturnal spotlight survey is a common census technique for many mammal species. The influence of abiotic factors may be essential for the appropriate design of censuses, however this method has not been examined sufficiently in relation to abiotic factors such as weather conditions and the moon. We tested their influence for a commonly counted species, the brown hare (Lepus europaeus). Spotlight surveys were conducted at certain night time and transects in three upland Mediterranean areas, at different times of the year, different moon phases and under a variety of weather conditions. Wind speed and direction had an influence on hare counts with stronger winds resulted in fewer juvenile hares being observed, and more hares were counted when wind was blowing from the hare towards the vehicle. No significant effects were found from the other factors probably due to the intense relief and thick vegetation of the studied areas.

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Assessing different methods for measuring mammal diversity in two southern African arid ecosystems

et al. 2021

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The validity and precision of spotlighting for surveying desert mammal communities

Cited by 14 publications

References 27 publications

Comparative Efficacy of Sign Surveys, Spotlighting and Audio Playbacks in a Landscape-Scale Carnivore Survey

Comparative Efficacy of Sign Surveys, Spotlighting and Audio Playbacks in a Landscape-Scale Carnivore Survey

Do Weather and Moon Have Any Influence on Spotlighting Mammals? The Case of Hare in Upland Ecosystem

Assessing different methods for measuring mammal diversity in two southern African arid ecosystems

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