Inferring camera trap detection zones for rare species using species- and camera-specific traits: A meta-level analysis

Camera trapping is a vital tool for wildlife monitoring. Accurately estimating a camera’s detection zone, the area where animals are detected, is essential, particularly for calculating population densities of unmarked species. However, obtaining enough detection events to estimate detection zones accurately remains difficult, particularly for rare species. Given that detection zones are influenced by species- and camera-specific traits, it may be possible to infer detection zones from these traits when data are scarce. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess how the number of detection events, species traits, and site-specific variables influence the estimation of the effective camera trap detection distance and angle. We reviewed published studies on detection zones, performed a power analysis to estimate the sample sizes required for accurate and precise estimates, and used mixed-effects models to test whether detection zones can be predicted from biological and technical traits. Our ..., Literature search
We searched for published articles reporting effective camera trap detection zones and the selected covariates on Web of Science using the following query: (camera trap* OR trail camera*) AND (effective radius OR detection zone OR detection distance OR Random Encounter Model OR Camera Trap Distance Sampling OR time-to-event model OR space-to-event model). The three density models for unmarked wildlife were included in the query as these always involve detection zone estimation to some degree. We excluded detection zones that were based on either human trials or manufacturer specifications, and detection zones that were estimated across multiple camera trap brands. We excluded two articles that already modeled detection zone parameters as a function of a covariate, but did not provide the raw data to do so independently. In total, 24 studies with data from 17 countries met our criteria (Table 1). Additionally, we included our own data set of 20 species from a study site..., # Data from: Inferring camera trap detection zones for rare species using species- and camera-specific traits: A meta-level analysis

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.gtht76j0c](10.5061/dryad.gtht76j0c)

## Description of the data and file structure

##### Predicting detection zones for your own dataset

We provide code to predict detection zones for your own dataset on Github: [https://github.com/jnwiegers/predict_detection_zones](https://github.com/jnwiegers/)

### Files and variables

These are the data used to compute effective detection distances (EDDs) and angles (EDAs) for camera trap data:

* datasets_2025.zip contains formatted versions of all datasets used. Required for 'power' and 'analyses' scripts. Each dataset is a collection of distance/angular measurements to animals in camera trap viewsheds.

Please not that these datasets could not be deposited on Dryad, which requires a CC0 license. Instead, they are available from the corresponding author upon request:
* Datasets orig...,