Using camera traps to estimate habitat preferences and occupancy patterns of vertebrates in boreal wetlands

Wetlands are a critical habitat for boreal mammals and birds that rely on them for breeding, foraging, and resting. However, wetlands in boreal regions are increasingly experiencing natural and human pressures. These impacts can lead to a reduction in the availability of wetland habitats for boreal mammals and birds that rely on wetlands for breeding, foraging, and resting. To inform management and conservation, camera traps provide an opportunity to survey mammals and birds to investigate their habitat preferences. We aimed to evaluate the effect of habitat features on the occupancy of mammals and birds in boreal wetlands. We used a multispecies occupancy model to estimate the habitat associations of 11 mammals and 45 avian species detected at 50 sampling ponds during the summers of 2018 and 2019 in Northern Quebec. Our results indicate that certain mammals, such as Red Fox and River Otters, and birds including the American Pipit, Common Raven, Hooded Merganser, and Greater Yellowlegs ..., Camera trap survey
We conducted camera trap surveys at 50 wetlands over two summers in 2018 and 2019, using three cameras per pond in a triangular configuration. We used scent lures as attractants, and cameras were rotated and baited accordingly. Data collection occurred during two sessions of seven consecutive days per year. Each camera array consisted of three infrared Bushnell Trophy Cam HD motion-sensing digital cameras set to be active 24 hours/day. Cameras were placed at the edge of the pond and secured to a tree or a wooden stake at an average height of 30–60 cm at about 2–5 m from the water. Cameras were triggered by animal movements and programmed to take three photographs per trigger event, and a following video of 10-s, with a 1-min interval delay between detections to avoid that a single animal would be the subject of a long event of recording. We placed scent lure on a stick at 2 -5 m in front of the camera trap to increase the probability of detecting animals approaching t..., We estimated model parameters using a Bayesian approach based on Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) in JAGS 4.3.0 within R 4.1.2 using the jagsUI package (Plummer et al. 2006; Lunn et al. 2013; Kellner 2019; R Core Team 2021). The description of each column header for each spreadsheet is provided in an associated ReadMe file. The steps to follow for each analysis are provided in the R code files. The final dataset included detection/non-detection data for 11 mammal species and 45 avian species from 50 ponds from May to August 2018 and 2019 (\"Cam_multisp_v4.Rdata\"). This dataset is shared in one file in the form of a 3-dimensional array table, which contained rows for pond units (n=100), columns for visits (n=14), and rectangular matrices for species (n=56). Please contact the author for any additional inquiries of how data was collected and analyze., This README file was generated on 2023-10-09 by Mariano J. Feldman.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Dataset: Data from: Using camera traps to estimate habitat preferences and occupancy patterns of
vertebrates in boreal wetlands
2. Author Information
A. Principal Contact Information
Name: Mariano J. Feldman
Institution: Université du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue (UQAT), Conservation Biology Group. Landscape Dynamics and Biodiversity programme. Forest Science and Technology Center of Catalonia (CTFC), Solsona, Catalonia, Spain.
Email: [e-mail]

B. Alternative Contact Information
Name: Marc J. Mazerolle
Institution: Université Laval
Email: [e-mail]
3. Date of data collection: Data was collected from May to August 2018 and 2019.
4. Geographic location of data collection: All peatland and beaver ponds were located in Northern Quebec, Canada.
5. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the...