Estimating asian elephant abundance: a comparative analysis of dung counts and genetic SECR in a known population of Kodagu, Karnataka, India.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Asian elephant, a keystone species of immense ecological and evolutionary significance, is under intensifying threat from habitat fragmentation and human-elephant conflict. Reliable population estimates are critical for effective conservation planning and understanding demographic processes, yet traditional methods like dung counts can be skewed by detectability issues and environmental variability. Here, we compared conventional line-transect dung counts with a non-invasive genetic spatially explicit capture-recapture (genetic SECR) approach in Kodagu, Karnataka, using high-throughput microsatellite sequencing (SSR-Seq). Our study area harbours a known population of 34 elephants (0.21 elephants/km²), providing a rare opportunity to evaluate the accuracy a

SUBMITTER: Kolipakam V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12523092 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature