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- Title
Spatial variation on the abundance of a threatened South American large herbivore using spatiotemporally replicated drone surveys.
- Authors
Brack, Ismael V.; Kindel, Andreas; Berto, Douglas O.; Cordeiro, José L. P.; Coelho, Igor P.; Lahoz-Monfort, José J.; de Oliveira, Luiz F. B.
- Abstract
Large herbivores—such as the South American marsh deer—are one of the groups more threatened with extinction, with their disappearance having severe consequences for entire ecosystems. Methods to estimate abundance of large herbivores robustly and efficiently are fundamental to evaluate the status and monitor fluctuations of their populations in time, as well as identify key areas for conservation planning. Here, we (i) explore the use of spatiotemporally replicated drone-based counts analysed with N-mixture models to estimate the abundance of large herbivores; and (ii) investigate how the local abundance of marsh deer varies in the landscape, for the dry season in the Pantanal wetland (Brazil). We fitted marsh deer drone-based counts using binomial and multinomial N-mixture models (for single and double observer protocols respectively) and modelled local abundance in relation to vegetation greenness, distance to water bodies, and jaguar density. Marsh deer local abundance presented a strong relation with what is expected to be the high-quality areas for the species: high levels of vegetation greenness (that are expected to provide high-quality forage) and close to water bodies. We identified key areas for the population in the remaining humid environments and, in the drier region, close to artificial water bodies. Spatiotemporally replicated drone-based counts may serve as an accessible and cost-effective protocol to estimate abundance and monitor large herbivores while accounting for imperfect detection.
- Subjects
SPATIAL variation; VEGETATION greenness; BODIES of water; HERBIVORES; JAGUAR; DEER; PROTECTED areas
- Publication
Biodiversity & Conservation, 2023, Vol 32, Issue 4, p1291
- ISSN
0960-3115
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10531-023-02553-7