Pursuing packrats: An evaluation of noninvasive detection methods for Neotoma

ABSTRACT Woodrats (Neotoma spp.) are imperiled in large swathes of the United States. Their populations have previously been monitored mainly through live‐trapping and sign surveys. However, these methods are labor‐intensive and either stress captured animals or limited by sign visibility and persis...

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Main Authors: Aaron C. Gooley, Eric M. Schauber
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-12-01
Series:Wildlife Society Bulletin
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.929
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author Aaron C. Gooley
Eric M. Schauber
author_facet Aaron C. Gooley
Eric M. Schauber
author_sort Aaron C. Gooley
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Woodrats (Neotoma spp.) are imperiled in large swathes of the United States. Their populations have previously been monitored mainly through live‐trapping and sign surveys. However, these methods are labor‐intensive and either stress captured animals or limited by sign visibility and persistence. As noninvasive alternatives, we deployed baited camera traps and baited track plates to monitor eastern woodrat (N. floridana) presence along rocky outcrops at 4 woodrat reintroduction sites in southern Illinois, USA, during May 2013 (5 camera and track‐plate stations/site) and May and September 2014 (4 camera and track‐plate stations/site) to compare their effectiveness. During each deployment, camera traps detected woodrat presence at all 4 sites while track plates only detected presence at 2–3 sites. A greater proportion of camera traps than track plates recorded detections during each deployment. Camera traps required more person‐hours to deploy and retrieve, but resulted in more detections per hour effort than track plates. We conclude that baited camera traps are superior to baited track plates for detecting and monitoring woodrat presence. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.
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spelling doaj-art-e3c98577cae943758d08efd8f834c2c32025-08-20T02:49:20ZengWileyWildlife Society Bulletin2328-55402018-12-0142470170510.1002/wsb.929Pursuing packrats: An evaluation of noninvasive detection methods for NeotomaAaron C. Gooley0Eric M. Schauber1Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Department of ZoologySouthern Illinois University CarbondaleIL62901USACooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Department of ZoologySouthern Illinois University CarbondaleIL62901USAABSTRACT Woodrats (Neotoma spp.) are imperiled in large swathes of the United States. Their populations have previously been monitored mainly through live‐trapping and sign surveys. However, these methods are labor‐intensive and either stress captured animals or limited by sign visibility and persistence. As noninvasive alternatives, we deployed baited camera traps and baited track plates to monitor eastern woodrat (N. floridana) presence along rocky outcrops at 4 woodrat reintroduction sites in southern Illinois, USA, during May 2013 (5 camera and track‐plate stations/site) and May and September 2014 (4 camera and track‐plate stations/site) to compare their effectiveness. During each deployment, camera traps detected woodrat presence at all 4 sites while track plates only detected presence at 2–3 sites. A greater proportion of camera traps than track plates recorded detections during each deployment. Camera traps required more person‐hours to deploy and retrieve, but resulted in more detections per hour effort than track plates. We conclude that baited camera traps are superior to baited track plates for detecting and monitoring woodrat presence. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.929camera trapeastern woodratillinoismonitoringNeotomanoninvasive
spellingShingle Aaron C. Gooley
Eric M. Schauber
Pursuing packrats: An evaluation of noninvasive detection methods for Neotoma
Wildlife Society Bulletin
camera trap
eastern woodrat
illinois
monitoring
Neotoma
noninvasive
title Pursuing packrats: An evaluation of noninvasive detection methods for Neotoma
title_full Pursuing packrats: An evaluation of noninvasive detection methods for Neotoma
title_fullStr Pursuing packrats: An evaluation of noninvasive detection methods for Neotoma
title_full_unstemmed Pursuing packrats: An evaluation of noninvasive detection methods for Neotoma
title_short Pursuing packrats: An evaluation of noninvasive detection methods for Neotoma
title_sort pursuing packrats an evaluation of noninvasive detection methods for neotoma
topic camera trap
eastern woodrat
illinois
monitoring
Neotoma
noninvasive
url https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.929
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