Comparing detectability patterns of bird species using multi-method occupancy modelling

José M Zamora-Marín,Francisco J Oliva-Paterna,Antonio Zamora-López,José F Calvo

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-81605-w

José M Zamora-Marín, Francisco J Oliva-Paterna + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81605-w

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Journal: Scientific Reports	Publication Date: Jan 28, 2021
Citations: 7	License type: open-access

Affiliation: University of Murcia

Abstract

A robust knowledge of biodiversity distribution is essential for designing and developing effective conservation actions. The choice of a suitable sampling method is key to obtaining sufficiently accurate information of species distribution and consequently to improve biodiversity conservation. This study applies multi-method occupancy models to 36 common bird species associated with small ponds in the province of Murcia (south-eastern Spain), one of the most arid regions of Europe, in order to compare their effectiveness for detecting different bird species: direct observation, combined observation and video monitoring and mist netting captures. The results showed that the combined method and direct observation were similar and most effective than mist netting for detecting species occupancy, although detection rates ranged widely among bird groups, while some large species were poorly detected by all the methods used. Average detectability did not increase during the breeding period. The chosen approach is particularly applicable to both single- and multi-species bird monitoring programmes. However, we recommend evaluating the cost-effectiveness of all the available methods in order to reduce costs and improve the success of sampling designs.

Highlights

A robust knowledge of biodiversity distribution is essential for designing and developing effective conservation actions
The simplest occupancy models accounting for imperfect detection entail two different processes: an ecological process governed by the probability of occupancy and another observation process that is governed by the probability of d etection[1,2]
plus video monitoring (PV) provided detectability estimates substantially higher than mist netting captures (MN), but the other pairwise comparisons did not point to any relevant differences

Summary

Introduction

A robust knowledge of biodiversity distribution is essential for designing and developing effective conservation actions. Species richness and abundance are the most widely used biological measurements in ecological studies and are frequently provided by large-scale monitoring programmes[1,2] Despite their importance for biodiversity management and conservation, most programmes are underresourced[3], placing constraints on the number of target species, sampling effort and kind of sampling methods used to detect the target species chosen[4]. The simplest occupancy models accounting for imperfect detection entail two different processes: an ecological process governed by the probability of occupancy and another observation process that is governed by the probability of d etection[1,2] The former is defined by the species requirements (habitat, geographical range and climate) and depends on the true occupancy state, involving both the presence and distribution of target species in the study area (i.e. whether the species is or is not present). Despite similar effectiveness in detecting species richness, most of these studies have pointed to the greater bias of mist netting when recording the abundance of bird species[23,29]

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