Snapshot Japan 2023: the first camera trap dataset under a globally standardised protocol in Japan

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Wildlife Management

Background:

• Global biodiversity monitoring is crucial for evaluating conservation targets.
• Camera traps offer a scalable solution for wildlife population monitoring.
• The Snapshot protocol, widely used in North America and Europe, lacks a regional network in Asia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the first camera-trap dataset in Japan utilizing the Snapshot protocol.
• To provide baseline data for wildlife population trends in Japan.
• To contribute to global biodiversity observation networks.

Main Methods:

• A collaborative camera-trap survey was conducted across 90 locations in Japan in 2023.
• Data collection involved 6162 trap-nights of survey effort.
• The Snapshot protocol was employed for standardized data collection.

Main Results:

• The survey captured 7967 sequences of mammals and birds, representing 20 mammal and 23 avian species.
• Wild boar, sika deer, and rodents were the most frequently observed species, comprising 57.9% of individuals.
• The dataset is available in Wildlife Insights and Camtrap DP 1.0 formats.

Conclusions:

• This dataset represents a significant contribution to biodiversity monitoring in Japan and globally.
• It serves as a baseline for assessing wildlife population dynamics and informing conservation strategies.
• The data can be utilized for training machine learning models for automated species identification.