Remote Cameras Versus Visual and Auditory Methods for Surveying the Colorado Chipmunk (Neotamias quadrivittatus)

Abstract

Noninvasive survey methods may be necessary when studying rare species or when site conditions are likely to result in unintended mortalities during conventional live trapping. Traditional noninvasive methods based on visual and auditory observations, such as stationary point and roaming, time-constrained area surveys, may be prone to error. Remote cameras are primarily used with large mammals but have increasingly been applied to small mammals. We compared survey methods for a rare subspecies of the Colorado chipmunk (Neotamias quadrivittatus oscuraensis) occurring in a remote mountain range in New Mexico using stationary point surveys; roaming, time-constrained area surveys; and remote-camera survey methods. We detected chipmunks at substantially more locations using remote cameras (13%–23%) versus surveys using visual and auditory cues at stationary points (2.6%) or roaming within 2.7-ha plots (5.6%). In addition, remote cameras have additional strengths, such as reducing the risk of false positive and false negative results as well as providing verifiable and archivable evidence that can be used to corroborate study results.