A simple framework for maximizing camera trap detections using experimental trials.

ABSTRACT: Camera trap data are biased when an animal passes through a camera's field of view but is not recorded. Cameras that operate using passive infrared sensors rely on their ability to detect thermal energy from the surface of an object. Optimal camera deployment consequently depends on the relationship between a sensor array and an animal. Here, we describe a general, experimental approach to evaluate detection errors that arise from the interaction between cameras and animals. We adapted distance sampling models and estimated the combined effects of distance, camera model, lens height, and vertical angle on the probability of detecting three different body sizes representing mammals that inhabit temperate, boreal, and arctic ecosystems. Detection probabilities were best explained by a half-n

SUBMITTER: DeWitt PD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10611648 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature