Assessing mammal species richness and occupancy in a Northeast Asian temperate forest shared by cattle

Aim: Asian forests are becoming increasingly degraded and fragmented by the extensive intensification of anthropogenic activities; these activities threaten wildlife and ecosystem sustainability. Facing a defaunation crisis, managers need more information on species assemblages to guide conservation efforts. We tested the relative influence of natural and anthropogenic factors on mammalian species richness and occupancy in temperate forests in Northeast Asia.

Location: Northeast China.

Methods: Camera-trapping data and multi-species occupancy models were used to estimate the species richness of a terrestrial mammal community in a working landscape and assess community-, group-, and species-specific responses to natural and anthropogenic features while accounting for imperfect detection. Species were grouped based on body size, diet, and activity pattern.

Results: We deployed 138 cameras and photographed 21 mammalian species over 22,976 trap days across the China-Russia border. ...