Hoefer, Sebastian, McKnight, Donald T., Allen-Ankins, Slade, Nordberg, Eric J., and Schwarzkopf, Lin (2024) Diverse Methods for Diverse Systems: A Large-Scale Comparison of Reptile Sampling Methods. Herpetologica. (In Press)

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Abstract

Reptiles play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem health, yet many species face increasing threats because of various anthropogenic factors. To enhance our understanding of reptile diversity and habitat use, evaluation of the effectiveness of diverse survey techniques is necessary. The relative efficacy of different methods may vary significantly across regions or communities, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach using multiple survey methods over extensive spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of seven survey methods—pitfall traps, funnel traps, spotlighting, arboreal cover boards, incidental encounters, camera traps, and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM)—for assessing reptile biodiversity over several years across an extensive spatial range in open eucalypt woodlands in eastern Australia. Pitfall and funnel traps were the most effective methods for detecting reptiles across all sites and latitudes. A combination of pitfall and funnel traps accumulated species most quickly, had high detection probabilities, and accounted for nearly 90% of all different reptile species detected in this study. However, with a decrease in latitude reptile diversity increased and other survey methods became necessary to document the full extent of the reptile communities. Reptile assemblages captured by different survey methods varied significantly, except for the communities captured by pitfall and funnel traps. No single method captured all species, and no species was detected by every method. PAM failed to detect any reptiles and may not be viable for assessing reptile biodiversity in Australia. Pitfall and funnel traps proved highly effective for detecting terrestrial reptiles within open eucalypt woodlands in Australia; however, the selection of methods for evaluating reptile biodiversity depended on the objectives and target fauna. When possible, to maximize species richness, survey designs should incorporate an array of concurrently deployed methods, particularly in regions with higher overall species richness. Nevertheless, if resources and time are limited, pitfall and funnel traps, combined with incidental encounters, should capture the majority of species.

Item ID:	83780
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1938-5099
Keywords:	Australia; Biodiversity monitoring; Detectability; Species richness; Survey techniques
Copyright Information:	© 2024 by The Herpetologists’ League, Inc
Funders:	Australian Research Council (ARC)
Projects and Grants:	Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant DP200101365
Date Deposited:	17 Oct 2024 00:50
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310308 Terrestrial ecology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1806 Terrestrial systems and management > 180601 Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems @ 50% 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1806 Terrestrial systems and management > 180606 Terrestrial biodiversity @ 50%
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