1
|
Beranek CT, Southwell D, Jessop TS, Hope B, Gama VF, Gallahar N, Webb E, Law B, McIlwee A, Wood J, Roff A, Gillespie G. Comparing the cost-effectiveness of drones, camera trapping and passive acoustic recorders in detecting changes in koala occupancy. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11659. [PMID: 38957698 PMCID: PMC11219196 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2024] [Revised: 06/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Quantifying the cost-effectiveness of alternative sampling methods is crucial for efficient biodiversity monitoring and detection of population trends. In this study, we compared the cost-effectiveness of three novel sampling methods for detecting changes in koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) occupancy: thermal drones, passive acoustic recorders and camera trapping. Specifically, we fitted single-season occupancy-detection models to data recorded from 46 sites in eight bioregions of New South Wales, Australia, between 2018 and 2022. We explored the effect of weather variables on daily detection probability for each method and, using these estimates, calculated the statistical power to detect 30%, 50% and 80% declines in koala occupancy. We calculated power for different combinations of sites (1-200) and repeat surveys (2-40) and developed a cost model that found the cheapest survey design that achieved 80% power to detect change. On average, detectability of koalas was highest with one 24-h period of acoustic surveys (0.32, 95% CI's: 0.26, 0.39) compared to a 25-ha flight of drone surveys (0.28, 95% 0.15, 0.48) or a 24-h period of camera trapping consisting of six cameras (0.019, 95% CI's: 0.014, 0.025). We found a negative quadratic relationship between detection probability and air temperature for all three methods. Our power and cost analysis suggested that 148 sites surveyed with acoustic recorders deployed for 14 days would be the cheapest method to sufficiently detect a 30% decline in occupancy with 80% power. We recommend passive acoustic recorders as the most efficient sampling method for monitoring koala occupancy compared to cameras or drones. Further comparative studies are needed to compare the relative effectiveness of these methods and others when the monitoring objective is to detect change in koala abundance over time.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chad T. Beranek
- Conservation Science Research GroupUniversity of NewcastleCallaghanNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Darren Southwell
- Conservation Science Research GroupUniversity of NewcastleCallaghanNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Tim S. Jessop
- Koala Science Team, Conservation and Restoration Science, Science, Economics and Insights DivisionNew South Wales Department of Planning and EnvironmentParramattaNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Benjamin Hope
- Koala Science Team, Conservation and Restoration Science, Science, Economics and Insights DivisionNew South Wales Department of Planning and EnvironmentParramattaNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Veronica Fernandes Gama
- Koala Science Team, Conservation and Restoration Science, Science, Economics and Insights DivisionNew South Wales Department of Planning and EnvironmentParramattaNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Nicole Gallahar
- Koala Science Team, Conservation and Restoration Science, Science, Economics and Insights DivisionNew South Wales Department of Planning and EnvironmentParramattaNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Elliot Webb
- Koala Science Team, Conservation and Restoration Science, Science, Economics and Insights DivisionNew South Wales Department of Planning and EnvironmentParramattaNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Brad Law
- Department of Primary IndustriesForest Science CentreParramattaNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Allen McIlwee
- Koala Science Team, Conservation and Restoration Science, Science, Economics and Insights DivisionNew South Wales Department of Planning and EnvironmentParramattaNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Jared Wood
- NSW Wildlife Drone Hub, Vegetation and Biodiversity Mapping, Science, Economics, and Insights DivisionNew South Wales Department of Climate Change and EnergyParramattaNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Adam Roff
- NSW Wildlife Drone Hub, Vegetation and Biodiversity Mapping, Science, Economics, and Insights DivisionNew South Wales Department of Climate Change and EnergyParramattaNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Graeme Gillespie
- Koala Science Team, Conservation and Restoration Science, Science, Economics and Insights DivisionNew South Wales Department of Planning and EnvironmentParramattaNew South WalesAustralia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Zuliani M, Ghazian N, Lortie CJ. A meta‐analysis of shrub density as a predictor of animal abundance. WILDLIFE BIOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/wlb3.01042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mario Zuliani
- Dept of Biological Science, York Univ. Toronto ON Canada
| | - Nargol Ghazian
- Dept of Biological Science, York Univ. Toronto ON Canada
| | | |
Collapse
|
3
|
Forti A, Partel P, Orsingher MJ, Volcan G, Dorigatti E, Pedrotti L, Corlatti L. A comparison of capture-mark-recapture and camera-based mark-resight to estimate abundance of Alpine marmot (Marmota marmota). JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.25225/jvb.22023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Forti
- Ente Parco Naturale Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino, Villa Welsperg, Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (TN), Italy; e-mail: , , , ,
| | - Piergiovanni Partel
- Ente Parco Naturale Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino, Villa Welsperg, Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (TN), Italy; e-mail: , , , ,
| | - Michel J. Orsingher
- Ente Parco Naturale Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino, Villa Welsperg, Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (TN), Italy; e-mail: , , , ,
| | - Gilberto Volcan
- Ente Parco Naturale Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino, Villa Welsperg, Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (TN), Italy; e-mail: , , , ,
| | - Enrico Dorigatti
- Ente Parco Naturale Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino, Villa Welsperg, Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (TN), Italy; e-mail: , , , ,
| | - Luca Pedrotti
- Stelvio National Park – Ersaf Lombardia, Bormio, SO, Italy; e-mail: ,
| | - Luca Corlatti
- Stelvio National Park – Ersaf Lombardia, Bormio, SO, Italy; e-mail: ,
| |
Collapse
|