AUTO
MATED C
AMERA TRAPP
ING
OF MAMMALS
ON T
HE FIR
ESTONE
RESERVE, COSTA
RIC
A
DE
VY
N P
AR
KS
• 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
COSTA RICA’S ECOLOGICAL HISTORY
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.
FIRESTONE CENTER FOR RESTORATION ECOLOGY
• 5 sub-habitats• Open secondary
forest• Closed secondary
forest• Primary forest• An abandoned
banana plantation• Bamboo plantation
FIRESTONE CENTER FOR RESTORATION ECOLOGY
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.
• 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
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
METHODS
A formula based on an article by J. Marcus Rowcliffe was used to estimate the density
CALCULATIONS
RESULTS
Banana Trees
Hacienda-clearing-path
Yoga Studio
Bamboo Lake
Bamboo Trail
Top Upper Loop Trail
Top Acess Road
Upper Access Road Nest
Middle Loop Trail
Lowest Path Access Road
Lowest Square Access Road
Lowest Loop Trail
Agouti 5 15 0 2 0 1 14 14 9 9 2 2
Armadillo 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Possum 4 7 1 1 2 0 9 2 1 0 0 0
Peccary 6 12 24 0 0 29 2 12 23 2 0 9
Paca 7 21 6 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0
Deer 1 4 13 8 0 5 0 2 2 4 0 2
Coati 6 9 0 4 1 0 0 8 1 0 0 0
Mouse 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Weasel 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0White-headed Capuchin 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0
Squirrel 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ocelot 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 1 0 0
Nothern Tamandua 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Figure 1. The number of animals found in each area of the Firestone Reserve over the span of 7-12 days.
RESULT
Banana Trees
Hacienda-clearing-path
Yoga Studio
Bamboo lake
Bamboo trail
Top upper loop trail
Top Acess Road
Upper Access Road Nest
Middle loop trail
Lowest path access road
Lowest square access road
Lowest loop trail
Agouti 0.0041 0.0101 0 0.0014 0 0.0014 0.0571 0.0200 0.0129 0.0367 0.0029 0.0029
Armadillo 0.0033 0.0040 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0014
Possum 0.0033 0.0047 0.0008 0.0007 0.0041 0 0.0367 0.0029 0.0014 0 0 0
Peccary 0.0050 0.0081 0.0185 0 0 0.0414 0.0082 0.0171 0.0329 0.0081 0 0.0129
Paca 0.0058 0.0141 0.0046 0 0 0.0014 0 0.0029 0.0014 0 0 0
Deer 0.0008 0.0027 0.0100 0.0057 0 0.0071 0 0.0029 0.0029 0.0163 0 0.0029
Coati 0.0050 0.0061 0 0.0029 0.0020 0 0 0.0114 0.0014 0 0 0
Mouse 0.0008 0 0 0 0 0 0.0041 0 0 0 0.0014 0
Weasel 0 0.0007 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0White-headed Capuchin 0 0.0013 0 0.0029 0 0 0 0.0043 0 0 0
Squirrel 0 0.0013 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ocelot 0 0 0 0.0007 0 0 0 0 0.0040 0 0Nothern Tamandua 0 0 0 0 0 0.0014 0.0041 0.0029 0 0 0 0Figure 2. The density of each
animal in various areas of the Firestone Reserve in units of animal/night/m2
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
CONCLUSION
• 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
SOURCES OF ERROR
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 Ecology 45: 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.