Abstract
The selection of a survey method of free-roaming dog populations should be based on analyses of local capacities and management priorities. Here, we compare the results of surveys of the stray dog population in Quito, Ecuador, using two different methodologies and propose an alternative method for future surveys in the city. We carried out all surveys in ~5 km-transects in a sample of eight urban and eight rural parishes (16 transects total). In 2018, we used the capture-recapture method to estimate absolute population size and 95% CI. We began transect surveys at 04 h 00 (local time) and identified individuals with photographs. The main limitations of this method were errors in identifying individuals, since photographs were not always clear, partly due to low light conditions during the surveys. This method also required more time and more complex logistics. In 2019, we used distance sampling to estimate population density and began the surveys at 08 h 00 (local time). Errors in the estimation of animal-observer distances and angles were our main concern when using this method. For future surveys, we propose to carry out direct observations of dog abundance (number of free-roaming dogs/km) during street counts, complemented with capture-recapture surveys every 5 years. This alternative method albeit simple, is sensitive enough to (1) provide local authorities with objective assessments of management interventions, (2) better understanding the dynamics of free-roaming dog populations and (3) increasing public awareness about the problem of pet abandonment through citizen participation in the surveys.
Highlights
The abandonment of dogs is a complex problem affecting animal welfare, native wildlife and public health [1]
In 2018, using the Capture—Recapture method, the estimated population of free-roaming dogs in the sample of urban parishes was 262, whereas in rural parishes it was 204
Combining urban and rural parishes, the total population was estimated in 460
Summary
The abandonment of dogs is a complex problem affecting animal welfare, native wildlife and public health [1]. The first estimations of the population size of dogs in the city did not provide sufficient information about the survey methods or were short term projects carried out by undergraduate students in specific sites of the urban area [e.g., [4]]. It was not until 2013 that Grijalva et al carried out a base line estimation of free-roaming dogs in urban and rural parishes in the Quito metropolitan district using space-based random sampling procedures and the Capture—Recapture Chapman modified Lincoln-Petersen model [5]. In 2018, we began such a project with interested citizens and personnel of public and private organizations, replicating the CaptureRecapture method used by Grijalva and collaborators in 2013 in a subsample of their surveyed areas
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