The power of monitoring: optimizing survey designs to detect occupancy changes in a rare amphibian population.

ABSTRACT: Biodiversity conservation requires reliable species assessments and rigorously designed surveys. However, determining the survey effort required to reliably detect population change can be challenging for rare, cryptic and elusive species. We used a tropical bromeliad-dwelling frog as a model system to explore a cost-effective sampling design that optimizes the chances of detecting a population decline. Relatively few sampling visits were needed to estimate occupancy and detectability with good precision, and to detect a 30% change in occupancy with 80% power. Detectability was influenced by observer expertise, which therefore also had an effect on the sampling design - less experienced observers require more sampling visits to detect the species. Even when the sampling design provides pre

SUBMITTER: Barata IM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5705711 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature