Dataset Information

Changes in Trap Temperature as a Method to Determine Timing of Capture of Small Mammals.

ABSTRACT: Patterns of animal activity provide important insight into hypotheses in animal behavior, physiological ecology, behavioral ecology, as well as population and community ecology. Understanding patterns of animal activity in field settings is often complicated by the need for expensive equipment and time-intensive methods that limit data collection. Because animals must be active to be detected, the timing of detection (e.g., the timing of capture) may be a useful proxy for estimation of activity time. In this paper, we describe a new method for determining timing of capture for small mammals. In our method, two small temperature loggers are positioned in each trap so that one logger registers the internal temperature of a live-trap at set intervals while the other logger simultaneously records external trap temperature. We illustrate the utility of this technique using field data from live-trapping of deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, one of the most ubiquitous, widely distributed small mammals in North America. Traps with animals inside registered consistent increases in internal trap temperature, creating a clear, characteristic temperature deviation between the two data loggers that can determine trap entry time within a very narrow time window (e.g., 10 minutes). We also present pilot data to demonstrate the usefulness of the method for two other small-mammal species. This new method is relatively inexpensive, robust to field conditions, and does not require modification of traps or wiring of new devices. It can be deployed as part of common live-trapping methods, making it possible to assay the timing of capture for a large number of animals in many different ecological contexts. In addition to quantifying timing of capture, this approach may also collect meaningful temperature data and provide insight into the thermal costs of animal activity and relationships between environmental conditions and the time of an animal's capture.

SUBMITTER: Orrock JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5085069 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Changes in Trap Temperature as a Method to Determine Timing of Capture of Small Mammals.

Orrock John L JL Connolly Brian M BM

PloS one 20161028 10

Patterns of animal activity provide important insight into hypotheses in animal behavior, physiological ecology, behavioral ecology, as well as population and community ecology. Understanding patterns of animal activity in field settings is often complicated by the need for expensive equipment and time-intensive methods that limit data collection. Because animals must be active to be detected, the timing of detection (e.g., the timing of capture) may be a useful proxy for estimation of activity ...[more]

PMID: 27792770

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Project description:Camera trapping to study wildlife allows for data collection, without the need to capture animals. Traditionally, camera traps have been used to target larger terrestrial mammal species, though recently novel methods and adjustments in procedures have meant camera traps can be used to study small mammals. The selfie trap (a camera trapping method) may present robust sampling and ecological study of small mammals. This study aimed to evaluate the selfie trap method in terms of its ability to detect species and estimate population density. To address this aim, standard small mammal live trapping was undertaken, immediately followed by camera trapping using the selfie trap. Both methods were set to target the arboreal sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) and semi-arboreal brown antechinus (Antechinus stuartii). The more ground-dwelling bush rat (Rattus fuscipes) was also live trapped and recorded on camera. Across four survey areas, the probability of detection for each of the three species was higher for selfie traps than for live trapping. Spatially explicit capture-recapture models showed that selfie traps were superior at estimating density for brown antechinus and sugar gliders, when compared to simulated live trapping data. Hit rates (number of videos per various time intervals) were correlated with abundance. When correlating various hit rate intervals with abundance, the use of 10-min hit rate was best for predicting sugar glider abundance (R2 = 0.94). The abundance of brown antechinus was estimated from selfie traps using a 24-h hit rate as a predictor (R2 = 0.85). For sugar gliders, the selfie trap can replace live trapping as individuals can be identified through their unique facial stripes and natural ear scars, and thus used in capture-recapture analysis. This method may be useful for monitoring the abundance of other small mammal species that can also be individually recognized from photographs.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13364-022-00643-5.

Project description:BackgroundWildlife traps are used in many countries without evaluation of their effect on animal welfare. Trap-capture of wild animals should minimise negative effects on animal welfare, irrespective of whether the animals are trapped for hunting, research, or management purposes. Live-trap capture of wild boar (Sus scrofa) followed by killing inside the trap by gunshot is a recently introduced but disputed hunting method in Sweden. Approval of trap constructions is based on gross necropsy findings of 20 trapped and shot wild boars. For improved animal welfare evaluation, our aim was to study wild boar behaviour during live-trapping in a 16 m2 square corral-style trap. Behavioural assessments were conducted after filming 12 capture events of in total 38 wild boars (five adults, 20 subadults, 13 piglets). Selected behavioural traits were compared with pathological changes (trap-related lesions) found at necropsy of the 20 subadults, to determine if these variables were useful proxies of capture-induced stress in wild boar.ResultsThe wild boars spent less time resting in the evening than in the night and morning. Using Friedman's ANOVA, there was an overall difference in the time spent foraging. However, we only found a difference between the evening and morning in the Wilcoxon matched pairs test after the Sequential Bonferroni correction, where the wild boars spent more time foraging in the evening than in the morning. Single captured individuals showed more escape behaviours and reacted more strongly to external stimuli than individuals captured in a group. It was more common for animals to charge against the mesh walls of the trap upon human approach compared to upon initial capture when the trap door closed. Trap-related pathological findings due to trauma were documented in 13 of the 20 subadults that were necropsied. Behavioural alterations indicative of capture-induced stress (e.g. charging into the trap walls) were documented in trapped wild boars with no or minor physical injuries (e.g. skin abrasions, subcutaneous haemorrhage).ConclusionsBehavioural assessment provided valuable information for determination of capture-induced stress in wild boar when evaluating live-trapping in a corral-style trap, whereas pathological evaluation through necropsy did not fully reflect the animal welfare aspects of live-trapping. We emphasize the inclusion of species-specific behavioural data assessment for evaluation of capture-related stress during live-trapping and for testing of new trap constructions before approval.

Dataset Information

Changes in Trap Temperature as a Method to Determine Timing of Capture of Small Mammals.

Publications

Changes in Trap Temperature as a Method to Determine Timing of Capture of Small Mammals.

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