Post-fire Carnivore Camera Surveys - San Diego Co. [ds305]

Remotely triggered camera stations have been used by USGS to document the occurrence of medium and large terrestrial vertebrates in several ecological reserves across Southern California. The surveys included in this dataset were conducted between 1999 and 2007 at six separate study sites, 1) Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve-Hollenbeck Canyon Wildlife Area (San Diego County), 2) Santa Ysabel Ecological Reserve (San Diego County), 3) Nature Reserve of Orange County (Orange County), 4) Jeffrey Road Extension (Orange County), 5) Tenaja Corridor (Riverside County), and 6) Whittier Hills-Colima Road Underpass (Los Angeles County). In most cases, we deployed remote cameras to collect baseline data on species distribution and relative abundance at the study sites. However, in special cases the remote cameras were utilized to compare pre-fire and post-fire species distribution and determine animal movement patterns in localized areas. This dataset contains spatial and temporal information on all animal captures (photographs), as well as gender and life stage if detectable. Accuracy of individual data fields has been reviewed.

Methods: Remotely triggered camera stations have become an increasingly useful tool in recording the activity of various wildlife species (Griffiths and Van Schaik 1993; Jacobson et al. 1997; Karanth and Nichols 1998). Cameras provide a relatively low-maintenance means of surveying wildlife populations, as researchers visit the units only to collect and replace spent film and batteries. We established camera stations along dirt roads, wildlife trails, and cattle paths throughout the study sites. Whenever the infra-red motion sensor attached to a camera detected a passing animal, the camera would document the event with a photograph. All cameras were programmed to record the date and time of the activity on the resulting photograph. After the film was retrieved and processed, we recorded species information for each photograph. Gender and life stage were noted if detected in the photograph.

Literature:

Griffiths, M. and C. P. Van Schaik. 1993. The impact of human traffic on the abundance and activity periods of Sumatran rain forest wildlife. Conservation Biology 7:623-626.

Jacobson, H. A., J. C. Kroll, R. W. Browning, B. H. Koerth, and M. H. Conway. 1997. Infrared-triggered cameras for censusing white-tailed deer. Wildlife Society Bulletin 25:547-556.

Karanth, K. U. and J. D. Nichols. 1998. Estimation of tiger densities in India using photographic captures and recaptures. Ecology 79:2852-2862.

Disclaimer: The State makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or adequacy of these data and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in these data. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to these data.

Use restricted to government agencies. Positional accuracy of individual locations is limited by: accuracy of satellite GPS locations, observer error, and possible data entry errors. Although, all reasonable attempts have been made to limit these factors, positional accuracy for any individual point should not necessarily be considered minimal. The appropriateness of multiple scales of inference, is the end-users responsibility to justify and the originators assume no responsibility for incorrect or misleading uses of this data.