USE OF
CAMERA TRAPS
for conservation actions
1
Picture of a cougar (Puma concolor) in the Sierra de San Pedro Martir captured with a camera trap.
By Cesar Guerrero and Antonieta Valenzuela
T
he use of camera traps for capturing images of wildlife is a helpful and important tool for environmental conservation, since it provides evidence on wildlife diversity of a determined place without human interference. This technique has gained popularity in the last years as a consequence of the rise of the new rather economic and easy-to-use automatic cameras (Kucera & Barret, 1993). They are also non-invasive and highly efficient compared to traditional techniques (Monroy-Vilchis et al. 2009). A camera trap is an automatic device that detects movement or temperature changes (depending on the camera), and is triggered by a sensor to take a photograph. Generally, they are used to capture medium- to large-sized land mammals and some species of birds. Broadly speaking, there are two types of cameras: triggered and non-triggered. Non-triggered cameras work by taking pictures continuously or with programed time intervals to capture events. On the other hand, triggered cameras activate with an event, usually the arrival of an animal. It can be activated mechanically, like with an animal stepping on a pressure pad, but more typically they are activated by an infrared system. “The use of camera traps is a helpful technique to study wildlife, […] and recollect information on 04
AUGUST 2016
a range of species, simultaneous or continuously in different areas of study, during a large period of time” (Ancrenaz et al., 2012, p.2). As to Terra Peninsular, both in Valle Tranquilo Nature Reserve as in Punta Mazo Nature Reserve, camera traps are used to collect useful information on the habitat by being an eco-friendly option that generates little to no impact. In these nature reserves, camera traps are strategically located in the areas of study and are rotated following systematic methods according to the objectives. Depending on the objectives and based on the obtained data, decisions focused on conservation following the Adaptive Habitat Management program are made, such as identifying changes in the ecosystem, determining presence or absence of wildlife to know in detail the biodiversity, use of habitat, among other aspects. As a result, different species have been detected in both reserves, especially in the Valle Tranquilo Nature Reserve where pictures of cougars, bobcats, mule deer, coyotes, and gray foxes, among other species have been taken. Chavez et al. (2013) stated that: “Detecting an individual or species […] is just the tip of a big mountain of information that allows us to analyze and understand both special aspects (distribution and abundance) and temporal aspects (if the sampling