Diverse Methods for Diverse Systems: A Large-Scale Comparison of Reptile Sampling Methods

Abstract

Abstract Reptiles play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem health, yet many species face increasing threats due to various anthropogenic factors. Enhancing our understanding of reptile diversity and habitat use worldwide necessitates evaluating the effectiveness of diverse survey techniques. The relative efficacy of different methods may vary significantly across regions or communities, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach using multiple survey methods over extensive spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of seven survey methods – pitfall traps, funnel traps, spotlighting, arboreal cover boards, incidental encounters, camera traps, and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) – for assessing reptile biodiversity over several years across an extensive spatial range in open eucalypt woodlands throughout eastern Australia. Pitfall and funnel traps were the most effective methods for detecting reptiles across all sites and latitudes. A combination of pitfall and funnel traps accumulated species the quickest, had high detection probabilities, and accounted for nearly 90% of all different reptile species detected in this study. However, with a decrease in latitude reptile diversity increased and other survey methods became necessary to document the full extent of the reptile communities. Reptile assemblages captured by different survey methods varied significantly, except for the communities captured by pitfall and funnel traps. No single method captured all species, and no species was detected by every method. Passive acoustic monitoring failed to detect any reptiles and may not be viable for assessing reptile biodiversity in Australia. Pitfall and funnel traps proved highly effective for detecting terrestrial reptiles within open eucalypt woodlands in Australia, however, the selection of methods for evaluating reptile biodiversity depends on the objectives and target fauna, and when possible, to maximize species richness, survey designs should incorporate an array of concurrently deployed methods, particularly in regions with higher overall species richness. Nevertheless, if resources and time are limited, pitfall and funnel traps, combined with incidental encounters, should capture the majority of species.