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Spatial capture–recapture with multiple noninvasive marks: An application to camera‐trapping data of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) using R package multimark

In Switzerland, the European wildcat (Felis silvestris), a native felid, is protected by national law. In recent decades, the wildcat has slowly returned to much of its original range and may have even expanded into new areas that were not known to be occupied before. For the implementation of effic...

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Autores principales: Maronde, Lea, McClintock, Brett T., Breitenmoser, Urs, Zimmermann, Fridolin
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7771165/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33391695
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6990
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author Maronde, Lea
McClintock, Brett T.
Breitenmoser, Urs
Zimmermann, Fridolin
author_facet Maronde, Lea
McClintock, Brett T.
Breitenmoser, Urs
Zimmermann, Fridolin
author_sort Maronde, Lea
collection PubMed
description In Switzerland, the European wildcat (Felis silvestris), a native felid, is protected by national law. In recent decades, the wildcat has slowly returned to much of its original range and may have even expanded into new areas that were not known to be occupied before. For the implementation of efficient conservation actions, reliable information about the status and trend of population size and density is crucial. But so far, only one reliable estimate of density in Switzerland was produced in the northern Swiss Jura Mountains. Wildcats are relatively rare and elusive, but camera trapping has proven to be an effective method for monitoring felids. We developed and tested a monitoring protocol using camera trapping in the northern Jura Mountains (cantons of Bern and Jura) in an area of 100 km(2). During 60 days, we obtained 105 pictures of phenotypical wildcats of which 98 were suitable for individual identification. We identified 13 individuals from both sides and, additionally, 5 single right‐sided flanks and 3 single left‐sided flanks that could not be matched to unique individuals. We analyzed the camera‐trap data using the R package multimark, which has been extended to include a novel spatial capture–recapture model for encounter histories that include multiple “noninvasive” marks, such as bilaterally asymmetrical left‐ and right‐sided flanks, that can be difficult (or impossible) to reliably match to individuals. Here, we present this model in detail for the first time. Based on a “semi‐complete” data likelihood, the model is less computationally demanding than Bayesian alternatives that rely on a data‐augmented complete data likelihood. The spatially explicit capture–recapture model estimated a wildcat density (95% credible interval) of 26 (17–36) per 100 km(2) suitable habitat. Our integrated model produced higher abundance and density estimates with improved precision compared to single‐sided analyses, suggesting spatially explicit capture–recapture methods with multiple “noninvasive” marks can improve our ability to monitor wildcat population status.
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spelling pubmed-77711652020-12-31 Spatial capture–recapture with multiple noninvasive marks: An application to camera‐trapping data of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) using R package multimark Maronde, Lea McClintock, Brett T. Breitenmoser, Urs Zimmermann, Fridolin Ecol Evol Original Research In Switzerland, the European wildcat (Felis silvestris), a native felid, is protected by national law. In recent decades, the wildcat has slowly returned to much of its original range and may have even expanded into new areas that were not known to be occupied before. For the implementation of efficient conservation actions, reliable information about the status and trend of population size and density is crucial. But so far, only one reliable estimate of density in Switzerland was produced in the northern Swiss Jura Mountains. Wildcats are relatively rare and elusive, but camera trapping has proven to be an effective method for monitoring felids. We developed and tested a monitoring protocol using camera trapping in the northern Jura Mountains (cantons of Bern and Jura) in an area of 100 km(2). During 60 days, we obtained 105 pictures of phenotypical wildcats of which 98 were suitable for individual identification. We identified 13 individuals from both sides and, additionally, 5 single right‐sided flanks and 3 single left‐sided flanks that could not be matched to unique individuals. We analyzed the camera‐trap data using the R package multimark, which has been extended to include a novel spatial capture–recapture model for encounter histories that include multiple “noninvasive” marks, such as bilaterally asymmetrical left‐ and right‐sided flanks, that can be difficult (or impossible) to reliably match to individuals. Here, we present this model in detail for the first time. Based on a “semi‐complete” data likelihood, the model is less computationally demanding than Bayesian alternatives that rely on a data‐augmented complete data likelihood. The spatially explicit capture–recapture model estimated a wildcat density (95% credible interval) of 26 (17–36) per 100 km(2) suitable habitat. Our integrated model produced higher abundance and density estimates with improved precision compared to single‐sided analyses, suggesting spatially explicit capture–recapture methods with multiple “noninvasive” marks can improve our ability to monitor wildcat population status. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2020-12-02 /pmc/articles/PMC7771165/ /pubmed/33391695 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6990 Text en © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Research
Maronde, Lea
McClintock, Brett T.
Breitenmoser, Urs
Zimmermann, Fridolin
Spatial capture–recapture with multiple noninvasive marks: An application to camera‐trapping data of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) using R package multimark
title Spatial capture–recapture with multiple noninvasive marks: An application to camera‐trapping data of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) using R package multimark
title_full Spatial capture–recapture with multiple noninvasive marks: An application to camera‐trapping data of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) using R package multimark
title_fullStr Spatial capture–recapture with multiple noninvasive marks: An application to camera‐trapping data of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) using R package multimark
title_full_unstemmed Spatial capture–recapture with multiple noninvasive marks: An application to camera‐trapping data of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) using R package multimark
title_short Spatial capture–recapture with multiple noninvasive marks: An application to camera‐trapping data of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) using R package multimark
title_sort spatial capture–recapture with multiple noninvasive marks: an application to camera‐trapping data of the european wildcat (felis silvestris) using r package multimark
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7771165/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33391695
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6990
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