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Related Experiment Videos

Assessing tiger population dynamics using photographic capture-recapture sampling.

K Ullas Karanth1, James D Nichols, N Samba Kumar

  • 1Wildlife Conservation Society-India Program, Centre for Wildlife Studies, 26-2, Aga Abbas Ali Road (Apt: 403), Bangalore, Karnataka 560 042, India. ukaranth@wcs.org

Ecology
|December 16, 2006
PubMed
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A new noninvasive method accurately tracks tiger populations using photographic data. This study demonstrates a 3% annual population increase in tigers, showing protected populations can thrive despite challenges.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Conservation Biology
  • Wildlife Management

Background:

  • Estimating population dynamics of elusive large carnivores like tigers is challenging due to sampling difficulties.
  • Rigorous data on tiger population viability are scarce, hindering effective conservation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To apply and validate a rigorous, noninvasive method for assessing tiger population dynamics.
  • To test model-based predictions regarding tiger population viability using photographic capture-recapture data.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a "robust design" capture-recapture framework with photographic data from 74 individual tigers over nine years.
  • Modeled ecological parameters including abundance, density, survival, recruitment, and emigration, accounting for individual heterogeneity and trap response.

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  • Employed likelihood-based analysis to estimate population parameters with high precision.

    • Main Results:

    • Estimated an annual tiger survival rate of 0.77 +/- 0.051 and a 3% annual population increase (lambda = 1.03 +/- 0.020).
    • Population density ranged from 7.33 to 21.73 tigers/100 km², indicating healthy levels in Nagarahole.
    • Despite annual losses and recruitment variations, tiger density remained high, supporting their reproductive potential.

    Conclusions:

    • The developed noninvasive method provides precise estimates for tiger population dynamics, essential for conservation.
    • Protected tiger populations can maintain healthy status due to high reproductive potential, even with significant mortality.
    • This efficient sampling approach is applicable to other elusive species identifiable from photographs.