Presence/absence as a metric for monitoring vertebrate populations

Abstract

Developing cost effective methods for monitoring vertebrate populations is a persistent problem in wildlife biology. Population demographic data is too costly and time intensive to acquire, so researchers have begun investigating presence/absence sampling as a means for monitoring wildlife populations. We examined three important assumptions regarding the probability of detection (POD) requisite to implementing presence/ absence sampling for wildlife monitoring: constant POD within species among sampling visits, among years, and among habitats. POD was constant for all small mammals examined between habitats and for most small mammals among visits and between years. Presence/absence may eventually serve as an effective means of monitoring some wildlife populations for demographic changes over time, but additional research will be necessary to further test these and other assumptions.

Parent Publication

• The Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project: What we have learned

Citation

Ruggiero, Len; Pearson, Dean. 2000. Presence/absence as a metric for monitoring vertebrate populations. In: Smith, Helen Y., ed. 2000. The Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project: What we have learned: symposium proceedings; 1999 May 18-20; Missoula, MT. Proc. RMRS-P-17. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 41-44