Monitoring trends in the abundance of furbearers may be challenging, particularly at the spatio-temporal scales relevant for management. As such, wildlife managers often rely on harvest records to identify broad-scale harvest patterns and trends. Yet, the reliability of harvest records is often unknown. Analyses of harvest records to determine quotas and assess sustainability need to account for error rates when they are > 0. We evaluated the accuracy of trapper-reported sex of lynx (Lynx canadensis; n = 185) and wolverine (Gulo gulo; n = 467)—two meso-carnivores commonly targeted by fur trappers in northwestern Canada and Alaska—by comparing that to sex determined via necropsies of the same carcasses. Overall error rates differed significantly between wolverine (5%) and lynx (13%). Error rates were sex-biased for wolverine, but not lynx. Body size did not affect error rates for either species. Our data demonstrated species- and sex-specific error rates in the sex reported in harvest records. Error rates for wolverine (5%) were likely trivial for determining harvest sustainability because sex-based bias was small, given that overall accuracy was high. While error rates were greater for lynx (13%), there was no sex-based bias in trapper-reported sex. Because accuracy was lower for lynx, managers should exercise caution when using trapper-reported sex to conduct population analyses or assess harvest sustainability. Managers should be particularly interested in error rates of harvested species that exhibit relatively little sexual size dimorphism and lack obvious genitalia, similar to lynx. We recommend assessing error in trapper-reported sex prior to analysis of harvest records, as well as ongoing education with trappers to increase their ability to reliably determine the sex of animals they harvest.

中文翻译：

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天猫（Lynx canadensis）和金刚狼（Gulo gulo）的捕虫者报告的性别错误：对收割记录分析的启示

监视小贩数量的趋势可能是具有挑战性的，特别是在与管理相关的时空范围内。因此，野生动植物管理者通常依靠收获记录来识别大规模的收获方式和趋势。但是，收割记录的可靠性通常是未知的。分析收获记录以确定配额并评估可持续性，需要考虑错误率大于0时的错误率。我们评估了用捕猎者报道的天猫（Lynx canadensis；n  = 185）和金刚狼（Gulo gulo；n （= 467）-通过将其与同尸尸体尸检确定的性别进行比较，将两个中型食肉动物在加拿大西北部和阿拉斯加通常以毛皮捕获者作为目标。金刚狼（5％）和山猫（13％）之间的总体错误率显着不同。错误率对金刚狼有性别偏见，但不是山猫。体型不影响任何一种的错误率。我们的数据证明了收割记录中报告的性别中特定物种和性别的错误率。由于总的准确性较高，基于性别的偏见很小，因此金银花的错误率（5％）对于确定收成的可持续性而言可能微不足道。虽然山猫的错误率更高（13％），但在捕鼠者报告的性行为中没有基于性别的偏见。由于山猫的准确度较低，在使用捕猎者报告的性行为进行种群分析或评估收获可持续性时，管理人员应谨慎行事。管理者应该特别感兴趣的是与天猫座相似的，具有相对较小的性大小双态性且缺乏明显生殖器的采集物种的错误率。我们建议在分析收获记录之前评估捕虫者报告的性行为中的错误，并建议对捕虫者进行持续教育以提高其可靠地确定所收获动物性别的能力。