Toward reliable estimates of abundance: comparing index methods to assess the abundance of a Mammalian predator.

ABSTRACT: Due to time and financial constraints indices are often used to obtain landscape-scale estimates of relative species abundance. Using two different field methods and comparing the results can help to detect possible bias or a non monotonic relationship between the index and the true abundance, providing more reliable results. We used data obtained from camera traps and feces counts to independently estimate relative abundance of red foxes in the Black Forest, a forested landscape in southern Germany. Applying negative binomial regression models, we identified landscape parameters that influence red fox abundance, which we then used to predict relative red fox abundance. We compared the estimated regression coefficients of the landscape parameters and the predicted abundance of the two meth

SUBMITTER: Guthlin D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3990582 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature