Schmidt Benedikt R, Meier Anita, Sutherland Chris, Royle J Andy
Info Fauna Karch, Passage Maximilien-de-Meuron 6, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Institut für Evolutionsbiologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
R Soc Open Sci. 2017 Sep 13;4(9):170374. doi: 10.1098/rsos.170374. eCollection 2017 Sep.
Vague and/or ad hoc definitions of the area sampled in monitoring efforts are common, and estimates of ecological state variables (e.g. distribution and abundance) can be sensitive to such specifications. The uncertainty in population metrics due to data deficiencies, vague definitions of space and lack of standardized protocols is a major challenge for monitoring, managing and conserving amphibian and reptile populations globally. This is especially true for the slow-worm (), a cryptic and fossorial legless lizard; uncertainty about spatial variation in density has hindered conservation efforts (e.g. in translocation projects). Spatial capture-recapture (SCR) methods can be used to estimate density while simultaneously and explicitly accounting for space and individual movement. We use SCR to analyse mark-recapture data of the slow-worm that were collected using artificial cover objects (ACO). Detectability varied among ACO grids and through the season. Estimates of slow-worm density varied across ACO grids (13, 45 and 46 individuals ha, respectively). The estimated 95% home range size of slow-worms was 0.38 ha. Our estimates provide valuable information about slow-worm spatial ecology that can be used to inform future conservation management.
在监测工作中，对采样区域的定义模糊和/或临时设定的情况很常见，而且生态状态变量（如分布和丰度）的估计可能会对这些设定很敏感。由于数据不足、空间定义模糊以及缺乏标准化方案，导致种群指标存在不确定性，这是全球两栖动物和爬行动物种群监测、管理和保护面临的一项重大挑战。对于慢蠕虫（一种隐秘的穴居无腿蜥蜴）来说尤其如此；密度空间变化的不确定性阻碍了保护工作（例如在转移项目中）。空间捕获-重捕（SCR）方法可用于估计密度，同时明确考虑空间和个体移动情况。我们使用SCR来分析通过人工遮蔽物（ACO）收集的慢蠕虫标记-重捕数据。可探测性在不同的ACO网格之间以及整个季节中有所不同。慢蠕虫密度的估计值在不同的ACO网格中有所变化（分别为每公顷13、45和46只个体）。估计慢蠕虫的95%家域大小为0.38公顷。我们的估计提供了有关慢蠕虫空间生态学的宝贵信息，可用于为未来的保护管理提供参考。
