Invasive predators are among the most detrimental biological invaders of island ecosystems. However, information detailing the effectiveness of trapping for these invasive species is often underreported. Here, we quantified the influence of environmental features on mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) trapping success across five forest types in eastern Puerto Rico. Specifically, we evaluated how canopy and understory cover, woody debris, proximity metrics, and elevation influenced the likelihood of capturing a mongoose at a trap location. The likelihood increased in habitats that were farther from rivers (P = 0.003), farther from recreation areas (P = 0.06), closer to trails (P = 0.11), and closer to coastal shoreline (P = 0.01). Optimizing capture success via trap placement can help reduce both trapping effort and costs. Thus, our results can be used to prioritize locations for future trapping as a means to improve capture success.

中文翻译：

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与波多黎各东部猫鼬（Herpestes auropunctatus）诱捕成功相关的环境特征

入侵掠食者是岛屿生态系统最有害的生物入侵者。但是，有关这些入侵物种诱捕效果的详细信息通常报道不足。在这里，我们量化了环境特征对猫鼬（Herpestes auropunctatus）捕获成功波多黎各东部五种森林类型的成功的影响。具体来说，我们评估了冠层和地下覆盖物，木屑，接近度和海拔高度如何影响在陷阱位置捕获猫鼬的可能性。远离河流（P = 0.003），远离娱乐区（P = 0.06），靠近步道（P = 0.11）和靠近沿海海岸线（P = 0.01）的栖息地的可能性增加。通过陷阱放置来优化捕获成功可以帮助减少陷阱工作和成本。从而，