Surveying drainage culvert use by carnivores: sampling design and cost-benefit analyzes of track-pads vs. video-surveillance methods.

Environmental assessment studies often evaluate the effectiveness of drainage culverts as habitat linkages for species, however, the efficiency of the sampling designs and the survey methods are not known. Our main goal was to estimate the most cost-effective monitoring method for sampling carnivore culvert using track-pads and video-surveillance. We estimated the most efficient (lower costs and high detection success) interval between visits (days) when using track-pads and also determined the advantages of using each method. In 2006, we selected two highways in southern Portugal and sampled 15 culverts over two 10-day sampling periods (spring and summer). Using the track-pad method, 90% of the animal tracks were detected using a 2-day interval between visits. We recorded a higher number of crossings for most species using video-surveillance (n = 129) when compared with the track-pad technique (n = 102); however, the detection ability using the video-surveillance method varied with type of structure and species. More crossings were detected in circular culverts (1 m and 1.5 m diameter) than in box culverts (2 m to 4 m width), likely because video cameras had a reduced vision coverage area. On the other hand, carnivore species with small feet such as the common genet Genetta genetta were detected less often using the track-pad surveying method. The cost–benefit analyzes shows that the track-pad technique is the most appropriate technique, but video-surveillance allows year-round surveys as well as the behavior response analyzes of species using crossing structures.

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Mateus A.R.A. Grilo C. y Santos-Reis M. Surveying drainage culvert use by carnivores: sampling design and cost-benefit analyzes of track-pads vs. video-surveillance methods. Springer, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1816-6

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Resource type Text
Date of creation 2025-05-23
Date of last revision 2025-05-23
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Metadata identifier 8444f640-92d8-5a34-b00c-cde667ae5138
Metadata language Spanish
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ISO 19115 topic category biota
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Name of the dataset creator Mateus, A.R.A., Grilo, C. y Santos-Reis, M.
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Other identifier DOI: 10.1007/s10661-010-1816-6
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