Efficient Mammal Biodiversity Surveys for Ecological Restoration Monitoring

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Wildlife Management
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Biodiversity surveys are crucial for monitoring ecological restoration success.
• Understanding how sampling effort influences species richness is key for efficient wildlife management.
• Mammalian biodiversity assessments require tailored approaches for different taxa.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of varying sampling efforts on observed species richness for small mammals, bats, and medium to large mammals.
• To provide taxon-specific recommendations for optimizing biodiversity surveys in restoration sites.
• To identify key drivers affecting species richness in simulated monitoring surveys.

Main Methods:

• Conducted field surveys at four bottomland hardwood restoration sites in Indiana.
• Simulated monitoring surveys with varying sampling efforts (transects, duration) using subsampled data.
• Employed hierarchical Bayesian nonlinear mixed models to analyze the relationship between sampling effort and species richness.

Main Results:

• Observed small mammal richness positively correlated with the number of trapping transects.
• Observed bat and medium to large mammal richness increased with extended sampling duration.
• Site variation significantly impacted small mammal and bat richness, but not that of medium to large mammals.

Conclusions:

• Sampling effort must be adjusted based on the target mammal group for efficient biodiversity assessments.
• The spatial scale of animal-habitat interactions is a primary factor influencing observed species richness.
• Taxon-specific survey designs are essential for effective monitoring of mammalian diversity in managed ecosystems.