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Automated Camera Trapping of Mammals on the Firestone Reserve, Costa Rica

Automated Camera Trapping of Mammals on the Firestone Reserve, Costa Rica. Devyn Parks. Costa rica’s Ecological history. Between 1950-1994 Costa Rica had the fastest rate of deforestation in the western hemisphere (Borges-Mendez , Ramon., 2008)

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Automated Camera Trapping of Mammals on the Firestone Reserve, Costa Rica

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  1. Automated Camera Trapping of Mammals on the Firestone Reserve, Costa Rica Devyn Parks

  2. Costa rica’s Ecological history • Between 1950-1994 Costa Rica had the fastest rate of deforestation in the western hemisphere (Borges-Mendez, Ramon., 2008) • Caused by colonization schemes, agricultural expansion, and increased cattle ranching

  3. Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology • 60 hectare (150 acre) property located on the southwest coast of Costa Rica • Originally lowland forest until it was cleared for cattle farming in the 1950’s and 1960’s • Since 1993 the property has been under restoration • Hacienda Baru is 830 acres of protected area including primary, secondary and selectively logged tropical wet forest.

  4. Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology • 5 sub-habitats • Open secondary forest • Closed secondary forest • Primary forest • An abandoned banana plantation • Bamboo plantation

  5. Purpose of experiment • Cameras are a very efficient, low cost way to estimate species richness in an area without disturbing natural habitats or behavioral patterns (Silveira, L., 2003) • Extension of a project done in 2012 by Emily Cole • Generate estimates of animal density • Gather information about different animals and animal behaviors in the different habitats throughout the reserve.

  6. Methods • 7 week time span • 24 Bushnell Trail Trophy Cameras total set up in 3 sets of 8 • 10-20 second videos • The cameras were placed either along cleared pathways or in square formations • Each plot stayed for approximately 8 days before being moved

  7. Methods • Videos on the SD cards were reviewed • Each animal’s species was identified • Time stamps on each video were referred to prevent over counting the animals

  8. Calculations • A formula based on an article by J. Marcus Rowcliffewas used to estimate the density

  9. Results Figure 1. The number of animals found in each area of the Firestone Reserve over the span of 7-12 days.

  10. result Figure 2. The density of each animal in various areas of the Firestone Reserve in units of animal/night/m2

  11. Conclusion • Largest density in the Hacienda-clearing-path, the banana trees, and along the upper access road next to an ant nest • Clear areas • Towards the west area of the reserve • Relatively near the Hacienda Baru border • Areas of least density tended to be in bamboo plantation and towards the east of the reserve

  12. Sources of error • The time and date feature was somewhat faulty • Some SD cards did not collect videos and some of the cameras did not function properly • To continue this project I would replace some of the memory cards and fix some of the cameras

  13. References • http://costarica.jsd.claremont.edu/index.shtml • http://www.haciendabaru.com/hacienda-baru-history • Borges-Mendez, Ramon. "Sustainable Development and Participatory Practices in Community Forestry: The Case of FUNDECOR in Costa Rica." Local Environment13.4 (2008): 365-83. Web. • Rowcliffe, J. M. et al. 2008. Estimating animal density using camera traps withoutthe need for individual recognition. Journal of Applied Ecology45: 1228–1236  • Silveira, L., Jacomo, A.T.A. & Diniz-Filho, J.A.F. (2003) Camera trap, line transect census and track surveys: a comparative evaluation.Biological Conservation, 114, 351–355.

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