Monitoring and Surveying Techniques

Introduction to Monitoring and Surveying

Monitoring and surveying are critical aspects of wildlife conservation and management, providing data to assess population trends, health, and range.
These techniques allow the identification of changes in wildlife populations and can help detect problems such as disease outbreaks, unnatural death rates, or habitat loss.

Direct observation involves visually confirming the presence and number of species, often using binoculars or telescopes.
Camera trapping uses motion-sensitive cameras for capturing images of wildlife, providing valuable data without disturbing animals.
Radio telemetry involves attaching transmitters to animals to track their movements, giving insights into their behaviour and habitat use.
In acoustic monitoring, sounds produced by animals are recorded and analysed to monitor species’ presence or activity.

Transect surveys involve walking along a fixed route and recording wildlife seen or heard. They can be line transects (straight lines) or belt transects (wide corridors).
Point counts are used primarily for birds, where an observer records all individuals heard or seen from a fixed point.
Quadrat surveys involve counting organisms within a square plot, often used for smaller or sessile species.
Capture and recapture methods estimate population sizes by marking a subset of the population, releasing it, and then comparing the number of marked individuals in a later sample.

The accuracy of monitoring and surveying can be affected by observer bias, variation in individual detection ability, and variation in species’ detectability.
Sampling error can occur if the survey sample is not representative of the entire population.
Temporal variation, such as time of day or season, can affect animal visibility or detectability.

It is essential to minimise distress or harm to animals during surveying and monitoring, adhering to ethical guidelines and obtaining necessary licenses.
Data privacy must also be respected, particularly in research involving species at risk from poaching or disturbance.