Occupancy estimation of wild species in a palm oil plantation using unstructured data.

ABSTRACT: In 2020-2024, plantation workers at a large oil palm plantation in West Kalimantan recorded sightings of wild species of several species groups. They did not use a standardized field method and produced no comprehensive reports but recorded only one or a few species per visit. Such unstructured data are generally viewed as challenging for statistical analysis. Here, we used occupancy models to estimate what proportion of spatial units (both non-natural and forest) a given species occupied annually in the plantation. We tested models with different covariates for species for which most data were available: 13 birds, 3 reptiles and 7 mammals, among which the iconic Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). For each species, the model which best fitted the data was selected. Two shortcomings in our data co

SUBMITTER: van Strien AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12863681 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature