Abstract Estimating wildlife abundance is central to conservation. We compared two widely practiced standards for counting animals - aerial strip surveys and ground line transects - with interpreted counts of animal tracks. At equal sampling intensity in semiarid savanna with good visibility all three methods produced similar population estimates and precision for six large herbivores. This comparison adds empirical support for the use of track count data to estimate population density rather than being restricted to ambiguous indices of relative abundance. Although expected to capture more species than aerial surveys, we found line transects limiting because encounter rates by direct sightings were relatively low; a minimum threshold 40 observations was achieved for only 1/3 of antelope species in 648.4 km of transect. By contrast, animal track counts returned exceedingly high encounter rates that allowed estimation of abundance for the entire large predator-prey community and mapping density-distributions more completely. Unlike aerial surveys conducted by Botswana's wildlife authority, the track survey provided opportunity to involve local people in the research process. The track survey cost 40% less than the aerial survey, and could be reduced a further 3-fold if trackers collected data autonomously without motor vehicles. Counting animals by their tracks is ultimately constrained to regions with appropriate substrates. However, in suitable environments like the Kalahari, we suggest that a citizen science driven by expert local trackers could ultimately replace conventional wildlife counts, generating knock-on benefits to conservation beyond improved data.

中文翻译：

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追踪器能否像传统的航空调查和距离采样一样有效地计算自由放养的野生动物？对博茨瓦纳喀拉哈里地区公民科学的影响

摘要 估计野生动物的数量是保护的核心。我们比较了两种广泛使用的动物计数标准 - 空中带状调查和地线横断面 - 与解释的动物轨迹计数。在可见度良好的半干旱稀树草原中，在相同的采样强度下，所有三种方法对六种大型食草动物产生了相似的种群估计和精度。这种比较为使用轨道计数数据估计人口密度增加了经验支持，而不是仅限于相对丰度的模糊指数。尽管预计会比航测捕获更多的物种，但我们发现线状断面受到限制，因为直接目击的遭遇率相对较低；在 648.4 公里的横断面中，只有 1/3 的羚羊物种达到了最低阈值 40 次观测。相比之下，动物踪迹计数返回了极高的遭遇率，从而可以估计整个大型捕食者-猎物群落的丰度并更完整地绘制密度分布图。与博茨瓦纳野生动物管理局进行的空中调查不同，轨道调查提供了让当地人参与研究过程的机会。跟踪调查的成本比航测低 40%，如果跟踪器在没有机动车辆的情况下自主收集数据，则可以进一步降低 3 倍。按动物的轨迹计数动物最终被限制在具有适当底物的区域。然而，在像喀拉哈里这样的合适环境中，我们建议由当地专家追踪者推动的公民科学最终可以取代传统的野生动物数量，除了改进数据之外，还能为保护带来连锁效益。