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Activity Number:
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35
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Type:
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Contributed
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Date/Time:
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Sunday, August 2, 2009 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
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Sponsor:
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Section on Statistics and the Environment
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| Abstract - #305580 |
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Title:
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Acoustic Estimation of Wildlife Abundance: Methodology for Vocal Mammals in Forested Habitats
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Author(s):
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Steven J. Schwager*+ and Mya E. Thompson and Katharine B. Payne
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Companies:
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Cornell University and Cornell University and Cornell University
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Address:
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Dept of BSCB, Ithaca, NY, 14853,
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Keywords:
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acoustic survey ; regression ; wildlife survey
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Abstract:
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Habitat loss and hunting pressure threaten mammal populations worldwide, generating critical time constraints on trend assessment. The survey method introduced here samples continuously and non-invasively over long time periods, using regression to estimate abundance (population size) from vocalization rates. We demonstrate the feasibility of acoustic surveys for African forest elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis). Visual surveys and vocalizations from a forest clearing in the C.A.R. were used to establish that low frequency elephant call rate is a useful index of elephant numbers (P < 0.001, rsq = 0.59). These results support the use of acoustic surveys for estimating elephant abundance over large remote areas and in diverse habitats. The methods presented can be applied to any species for which a reliable acoustic abundance index and detection function have been established.
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