Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
Bayesian inference in camera trapping studies for a class of spatial capture-recapture models
Author(s)
Royle, J. A.; Karanth, K. U.; Gopalaswamy, A. M.; Kumar, N. S.
Published
2009
Publisher
Ecology
Published Version DOI
https://doi.org/10.1890/08-1481.1
Abstract
We develop a class of models for inference about abundance or density using spatial capture-recapture data from studies based on camera trapping and related methods. The model is a hierarchical model composed of two components: a point process model describing the distribution of individuals in space (or their home range centers) and a model describing the observation of individuals in traps. We suppose that trap- and individual specific capture probabilities are a function of distance between individual home range centers and trap locations. We show that the models can be regarded as generalized linear mixed models, where the individual home range centers are random effects. We adopt a Bayesian framework for inference under these models using a formulation based on data augmentation. We apply the models to camera trapping data on tigers from the Nagarahole Reserve, India, collected over 48 nights in 2006. For this study, 120 camera locations were used, but cameras were only operational at 30 locations during any given sample occasion. Movement of traps is common in many camera-trapping studies and represents an important feature of the observation model that we address explicitly in our application.
Keywords
abundance, Bayesian analysis, binomial point process, camera trapping, carnivore surveys, data augmentation, density estimation, hierarchical model, Markov chain monte carlo, spatial capture recapture, tigers, trapping array, trapping grid
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB14645