On the assessment of big cats and their prey populations based on camera trap data

Abstract

The development of camera traps has improved our ability to study Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica), Amur leopards (Panthera pardus orientalis) and their prey populations. This research introduces camera trap monitoring methods of Amur tigers, Amur leopards and their prey populations in Chunhua and Madida areas of the Hunchun Nature Reserve, Changbai Mountains, China. A selection of monitoring positions, methods of erecting, parameter settings, and data filtering techniques are presented. Additionally, unique identifiers of Amur tigers and Amur leopards based on body patterns, calculations of relative abundance indexes (RAI), and the establishment of RAI models between the predators and prey are presented. We discuss the applicability of unique identifiers with ipsilateral patterns, the differences between camera trap monitoring and traditional survey methods, and the error of camera trap monitoring. We conclude that predicting densities of Amur tigers and Amur leopards with camera traps and automatic-individual-identifiers still needs improvement. Camera trap densities of one pair per 25 km can meet the needs for Amur tigers and leopards within Chunhua and Madida of the Hunchun Nature Reserve, but a separate monitoring project is 726 生 物 多 样 性 Biodiversity Science 第 22 卷 needed for ungulates prey.