Monitoring rare or elusive large mammals using effort-corrected voluntary observers

Biological Conservation

Volumn 142, Issue 1, 2009, Pages 159-165

  Kindberg, Jonas ^a   Ericsson, Göran ^a   Swenson, Jon E ^b,c  

^a SWEDISH UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES   (Sweden)

^b NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES   (Norway)

^c NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE FOR NATURE RESEARCH   (Norway)

Author keywords

Conservation; Large carnivores; Monitoring methods; Survey methods; Ursus arctos

Indexed keywords

CARNIVORE; DNA; MAMMAL; MONITORING; SPECIES CONSERVATION;

ALCES ALCES; ANIMALIA; MAMMALIA; URSUS ARCTOS;

EID: 57049135714     PISSN: 00063207     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2008.10.009     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. Anderson D.R. The need to get the basics right in wildlife field studies. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29 (2001) 1294-1297
2. Andrén H., Linnell J.D.C., Liberg O., Ahlqvist P., Andersen R., Danell A., Franzén R., Kvam T., Odden J., and Segerström P. Estimating total lynx Lynx lynx population size from censuses of family groups. Wildlife Biology 8 (2002) 299-306
3. Ball J.P., Ericsson G., and Wallin K. Climate changes, moose and their human predators. Ecological Bulletins 47 (1999) 178-187
4. Bellemain E., Swenson J.E., Tallmon D., Brunberg S., and Taberlet P. Estimating population size of elusive animals using DNA from hunter-collected feces, comparing four methods for brown bears. Conservation Biology 19 (2005) 150-161
5. Bellemain, E., 2005. Results from the genetic analysis performed on feces samples from bears in Västernorrland, January-May 2005. Report available at (January 2006).
6. Bischof R., Fujita R., Zedrosser A., Soderberg A., and Swenson J.E. Hunting patterns, the ban on baiting, and harvest demographics of brown bears in Sweden. Journal of Wildlife Management 72 (2008) 79-88
7. Brodie J., and Gibeau M. Brown bear population trends from demographic and monitoring-based estimators. Ursus 18 (2007) 137-144
8. Clevenger A.P., and Purroy F.J. Sign surveys for estimation trend of a remnant brown bear Ursus arctos population in northern Spain. Wildlife Biology 2 (1996) 275-281
9. Crête M., and Courtois R. Limiting factors might obscure population regulation of moose (Cervidae: Alces alces) in unproductive boreal forests. Journal of Zoology 242 (1997) 765-781
10. Dahle B., and Swenson J.E. Home ranges in adult Scandinavian brown bears Ursus arctos: effect of population density, mass, sex, reproductive status and habitat type. Journal of Zoology 260 (2003) 329-335
11. Eberhardt L.L., and Knight R.R. How many grizzlies in Yellowstone?. Journal of Wildlife Management 60 (1996) 416-421
12. Eberhardt L.L., and Simmons M.A. Calibrating population indices by double sampling. Journal of Wildlife Management 51 (1987) 665-675
13. Elgmork K. Vurdering av bjørnebestander ved hjelp av elgjegere I: Det sentrale Sør-Norge 1966-68 og 1976-78. Fauna 44 (1991) 269-274 (In Norwegian)
14. Ericsson G., and Wallin K. Hunter observations as an index of moose Alces alces population parameters. Wildlife Biology 5 (1999) 177-185
15. Field S.A., Tyre A.J., and Possingham H.P. Optimizing allocation of monitoring effort under economic and observational constraints. Journal of Wildlife Management 69 (2005) 473-482
16. Fryxell J.M., Mercer W.E., and Gellately R.B. Population-dynamics of Newfoundland moose using cohort analysis. Journal of Wildlife Management 52 (1988) 14-21
17. Gittleman J.L., and Gomper M.E. The risk of extinction - what you don't know will hurt you. Science 291 (2001) 997-999
18. Harris R.B., White G.C., Schwartz C.C., and Haroldson M.A. Population growth of Yellowstone grizzlies: uncertainty and future monitoring. Ursus 18 (2007) 167-177
19. Heberlein, T.A., 2000. The gun, the dog and the thermos. Culture and hunting in Sweden and in the United States. Sweden and America. Fall 2000, 24-29.
20. Hochachka W.M., Martin K., Doyle F., and Krebs C.J. Monitoring vertebrate populations using observational data. Canadian Journal of Zoology 78 (2000) 521-529
21. Keating K.A., Schwartz C.C., Haroldson M.A., and Moody D. Estimating numbers of females with cubs-of-the-year in the Yellowstone grizzly bear population. Ursus 13 (2002) 161-174
22. Kendall K.C., Metzgar L.H., Patterson D.A., and Steele B.M. Power of sign surveys to monitor population trends. Ecological Applications 2 (1992) 422-430
23. Kindberg, J., Swenson, J.E., 2006. Results from the genetic analyses performed on feces samples from bears in Västerbotten County, Sweden. Part II. Population estimate. Report No. 2006-3 from the Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project. Report available at (May 2008).
24. Knight R.R., Blanchard B.M., and Eberhardt L.L. Appraising status of the Yellowstone grizzly bear population by counting females with cubs-of-the-year. Wildlife Society Bulletin 23 (1995) 245-248
25. Link W.A., and Sauer J.R. Estimation of population trajectories from count data. Biometrics 53 (1997) 488-497
26. Linnell J.D.C., Swenson J., Landa A., and Kvam T. Methods for Monitoring European Large Carnivores - A Worldwide Review of Relevant Experience. Oppdragsmelding (1998), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim 549
27. Manly B.F.J. Randomization Bootstrap and Monte Carlo Methods in Biology (1997), Chapman and Hall, London
28. Mattson D.J. Sustainable grizzly bear mortality calculated from counts of females with cubs-of-the-year: an evaluation. Biological Conservation 81 (1997) 103-111
29. Mills L.S., Citta J.J., Lair K.P., Schwartz M.K., and Tallmond D.A. Estimating animal abundance using noninvasive DNA sampling: promise and pitfalls. Ecological Applications 10 (2000) 283-294
30. Newman C., Buesching C.D., and Macdonald D.W. Validating mammal monitoring methods and assessing the performance of volunteers in wildlife conservation - "Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodies?". Biological Conservation 113 (2003) 189-197
31. Romain K.R., Wielgus R.B., Austin M., Waits L., Kasworm W.F., and Wakkinen W. Density and population size estimates for North Cascade grizzly bears using DNA hair-sampling techniques. Biological Conservation 117 (2004) 417-428
32. Schwartz C.C., Haroldson M.A., Cherry S., and Keating K.A. Evaluation of rules to distinguish unique female grizzly bears with cubs in Yellowstone. Journal of Wildlife Management 72 (2008) 543-554
33. Schwarz C.J., and Seber G.A.F. Estimating animal abundance: review III. Statistical Science 14 (1999) 427-456
34. Skalski J.R., Ryding K.E., and Millspaugh J.J. Wildlife Demography: Analysis of Sex, Age, and Count Data (2005), Elsevier Academic Press, Burlington
35. Slade N.A., and Blair S.M. An empirical test of using counts of individuals captured as indices of population size. Journal of Mammalogy 81 (2000) 1035-1045
36. Solberg E.J., and Sæther B.-E. Hunter observations of moose Alces alces as a management tool. Wildlife Biology 5 (1999) 107-117
37. Solberg K.H., Bellemain E., Drageset O.-A., Taberlet P., and Swenson J.E. An evaluation of field an non-invasive genetic methods to estimate brown bear (Ursus arctos) population size. Biological Conservation 128 (2006) 158-168
38. Swenson J.E., Sandegren F., Bjärvall A., Söderberg A., Wabakken P., and Franzén R. Size, trend, distribution and conservation of the brown bear population in Sweden. Biological Conservation 70 (1994) 9-17
39. Sylvén S. Effects of scale on hunter moose Alces alces observation rate. Wildlife Biology 6 (2000) 157-165
40. Thelander B. The way we hunt in Sweden. In: Bergström R., Huldt H., and Nilsson U. (Eds). Swedish Game - Biology and Management (1992), Svenska Jägareförbundet, Spånga, Sweden 50-63
41. Thompson W.L. Sampling Rare or Elusive Species: Concepts, Design and Techniques for Estimating Population Parameters (2004), Island Press, Washington, DC
42. Weber W., and Rabinowitz A. A global perspective on large carnivore conservation. Conservation Biology 10 (1996) 1046-1055
43. Williams B., Conroy M., and Nichols J. The analysis and management of animal populations (2002), Academic Press, San Diego
44. Wilson G.J., and Delahay R.J. A review of methods to estimate the abundance of terrestrial carnivores using field signs and observation. Wildlife Research 28 (2001) 151-164
45. Yoccoz N.G., Nichols J.D., and Boulinier T. Monitoring of biological diversity in space and time. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16 (2001) 446-453
46. Zedrosser A., and Swenson J.E. Do brown bear litter sizes reported by the public reflect litter sizes obtained by scientific methods?. Wildlife Society Bulletin 33 (2005) 1352-1356
47. Zhou S., and Griffiths S.P. Estimating abundance from detection-nondetection data for randomly distributed or aggregated elusive populations. Ecography 30 (2007) 537-549