Declining Planetary Health as a Driver of Camera Trap Studies: Insights from the Web of Science Database

Planetary health is crucial to human well-being, ecosystem sustainability, and biodiversity. The camera trap (CT) is an effective sampling tool used to monitor biodiversity through remote sensing. This study examines the potential drivers of CT research growth using a logistic model based on specific variables, including global gross domestic product (GDP), temperature growth, the declined living planet index (LPI), and human population growth (Pop), by referencing Web of Science (WoS) indexed publications. LPI was identified as a statistically significant driver (p-value < 0.01), suggesting that the concept of “understanding the creatures we share the planet with” influences CT studies. In addition, this study examines CT research trends using the bibliometric insights of 2,377 extracted WoS-indexed publications. We examined and visualized the network of co-occurrence of authors and authors’ countries, keywords, and keywords plus documents. Overall, this study assesses ecological and conservation informatics and provides a reference to scholars, policymakers, and decision-makers.