Trends in cheetah <scp><i>Acinonyx jubatus</i></scp> density in north‐central Namibia

Fabiano, Ezequiel; Sutherland, Chris; Fuller, Angela K.; Nghikembua, Matti T.; Eizirik, Eduardo; Marker, Laurie

doi:10.1002/1438-390x.12045

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…tigers 21,22 and jaguars 66 . In contrast, no substantial fluctuation with relatively stable trends was recorded for cheetah 70 . The overall apparent survival, which consists of true survival and permanent emigration, was 63% in all sites.…”

Section: Demographic Changes Substantial Interannual Density Fluctuation and Fold Changes (15-41-fold Change)mentioning

confidence: 78%

Multi-seasonal systematic camera-trapping reveals fluctuating densities and high turnover rates of Carpathian lynx on the western edge of its native range

Duľa

Bojda

Chabanne

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Camera-trapping and capture-recapture models are the most widely used tools for estimating densities of wild felids that have unique coat patterns, such as Eurasian lynx. However, studies dealing with this species are predominantly on a short-term basis and our knowledge of temporal trends and population persistence is still scarce. By using systematic camera-trapping and spatial capture-recapture models, we estimated lynx densities and evaluated density fluctuations, apparent survival, transition rate and individual's turnover during five consecutive seasons at three different sites situated in the Czech–Slovak–Polish borderland at the periphery of the Western Carpathians. Our density estimates vary between 0.26 and 1.85 lynx/100 km2 suitable habitat and represent the lowest and the highest lynx densities reported from the Carpathians. We recorded 1.5–4.1-fold changes in asynchronous fluctuated densities among all study sites and seasons. Furthermore, we detected high individual’s turnover (on average 46.3 ± 8.06% in all independent lynx and 37.6 ± 4.22% in adults) as well as low persistence of adults (only 3 out of 29 individuals detected in all seasons). The overall apparent survival rate was 0.63 ± 0.055 and overall transition rate between sites was 0.03 ± 0.019. Transition rate of males was significantly higher than in females, suggesting male-biased dispersal and female philopatry. Fluctuating densities and high turnover rates, in combination with documented lynx mortality, indicate that the population in our region faces several human-induced mortalities, such as poaching or lynx-vehicle collisions. These factors might restrict population growth and limit the dispersion of lynx to other subsequent areas, thus undermining the favourable conservation status of the Carpathian population. Moreover, our study demonstrates that long-term camera-trapping surveys are needed for evaluation of population trends and for reliable estimates of demographic parameters of wild territorial felids, and can be further used for establishing successful management and conservation measures.

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Section: Demographic Changes Substantial Interannual Density Fluctuation and Fold Changes (15-41-fold Change)mentioning

confidence: 78%

Multi-seasonal systematic camera-trapping reveals fluctuating densities and high turnover rates of Carpathian lynx on the western edge of its native range

Duľa

Bojda

Chabanne

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…When monitored over time, population data can indicate trends in particular groups of animals or in species as a whole [ 20 , 21 ] or the efficacy of conservation efforts in comparison to control areas [ 22 ]. Remote sensing technologies such as camera traps have aided in species population assessments [ 23 – 26 ], as well as in our understanding of species ecology, and behaviour [ 23 ]. Advances in Global Positioning System (GPS) devices have further contributed towards understanding species ecology by providing insights into movements and habitat use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Categorising cheetah behaviour using tri-axial accelerometer data loggers: a comparison of model resolution and data logger performance

et al. 2022

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Background Extinction is one of the greatest threats to the living world, endangering organisms globally, advancing conservation to the forefront of species research. To maximise the efficacy of conservation efforts, understanding the ecological, physiological, and behavioural requirements of vulnerable species is vital. Technological advances, particularly in remote sensing, enable researchers to continuously monitor movement and behaviours of multiple individuals simultaneously with minimal human intervention. Cheetahs, Acinonyx jubatus, constitute a “vulnerable” species for which only coarse behaviours have been elucidated. The aims of this study were to use animal-attached accelerometers to (1) determine fine-scale behaviours in cheetahs, (2) compare the performances of different devices in behaviour categorisation, and (3) provide a behavioural categorisation framework. Methods Two different accelerometer devices (CEFAS, frequency: 30 Hz, maximum capacity: ~ 2 g; GCDC, frequency: 50 Hz, maximum capacity: ~ 8 g) were mounted onto collars, fitted to five individual captive cheetahs. The cheetahs chased a lure around a track, during which time their behaviours were videoed. Accelerometer data were temporally aligned with corresponding video footage and labelled with one of 17 behaviours. Six separate random forest models were run (three per device type) to determine the categorisation accuracy for behaviours at a fine, medium, and coarse resolution. Results Fine- and medium-scale models had an overall categorisation accuracy of 83–86% and 84–88% respectively. Non-locomotory behaviours were best categorised on both loggers with GCDC outperforming CEFAS devices overall. On a coarse scale, both devices performed well when categorising activity (86.9% (CEFAS) vs. 89.3% (GCDC) accuracy) and inactivity (95.5% (CEFAS) vs. 95.0% (GCDC) accuracy). This study defined cheetah behaviour beyond three categories and accurately determined stalking behaviours by remote sensing. We also show that device specification and configuration may affect categorisation accuracy, so we recommend deploying several different loggers simultaneously on the same individual. Conclusion The results of this study will be useful in determining wild cheetah behaviour. The methods used here allowed broad-scale (active/inactive) as well as fine-scale (e.g. stalking) behaviours to be categorised remotely. These findings and methodological approaches will be useful in monitoring the behaviour of wild cheetahs and other species of conservation interest.

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“…It is worth noting that the designs produced using this framework can be considered approximate in terms of specific location, and that the actual, finer‐scale site‐selection for traps can be informed by knowledge of the species’ biology and behavior (e.g., Fabiano et al 2020). Further, although we develop this framework with camera traps in mind, this method can easily be applied to determine the general location of other noninvasive surveys, wherein the selection of a sampling location instead activates some other form of sampling effort (see Fuller et al 2016, Sutherland et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimal sampling design for spatial capture–recapture

Dupont

Royle

Nawaz

et al. 2021

Ecology

Self Cite

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Spatial capture–recapture (SCR) has emerged as the industry standard for estimating population density by leveraging information from spatial locations of repeat encounters of individuals. The precision of density estimates depends fundamentally on the number and spatial configuration of traps. Despite this knowledge, existing sampling design recommendations are heuristic and their performance remains untested for most practical applications. To address this issue, we propose a genetic algorithm that minimizes any sensible, criteria‐based objective function to produce near‐optimal sampling designs. To motivate the idea of optimality, we compare the performance of designs optimized using three model‐based criteria related to the probability of capture. We use simulation to show that these designs outperform those based on existing recommendations in terms of bias, precision, and accuracy in the estimation of population size. Our approach, available as a function in the R package oSCR, allows conservation practitioners and researchers to generate customized and improved sampling designs for wildlife monitoring.

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Trends in cheetah Acinonyx jubatus density in north‐central Namibia

Cited by 19 publications

References 58 publications

Multi-seasonal systematic camera-trapping reveals fluctuating densities and high turnover rates of Carpathian lynx on the western edge of its native range

Multi-seasonal systematic camera-trapping reveals fluctuating densities and high turnover rates of Carpathian lynx on the western edge of its native range

Categorising cheetah behaviour using tri-axial accelerometer data loggers: a comparison of model resolution and data logger performance

Optimal sampling design for spatial capture–recapture

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