Primate species face growing risks of extinction throughout the world. To better protect their populations, effective monitoring techniques are needed. The goal of this study was to evaluate the use of arboreal camera traps and occupancy modeling as conservation tools for threatened lemur species. This project aimed to (1) estimate the occupancy and detection probabilities of lemur species, (2) investigate factors potentially affecting lemur habitat use, and (3) determine whether ground or arboreal cameras are better for surveying lemur assemblages. We conducted camera trapping research in five forest fragments (total trap nights = 1770; 900 arboreal trap nights (134 photo events); 870 ground trap nights (2 photo events)) and reforestation areas (total trap nights = 608; 1 photo event) in Kianjavato, Madagascar from May to September 2019. We used arboreal trap data from fragments to estimate occupancy for five species: the red-fronted brown lemur (Eulemur rufifrons; ψ = 0.54 ± SD 0.03), Jolly's mouse lemur (Microcebus jollyae; ψ = 0.14 ± 0.17), the greater dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus major; ψ = 0.42 ± 0.30), the red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer; ψ = 0.24 ± 0.03), and the black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata; ψ = 0.24 ± 0.08). Tree diameter, elevation, distance to village, and canopy connectivity were important predictors of occupancy, while camera height, canopy connectivity, fragment ID, and fragment size predicted detection. Arboreal cameras recorded significantly higher species richness compared with ground cameras. We suggest expanded application of arboreal camera traps in future research, but we recommend longer trapping periods to better sample rarer species. Overall, arboreal camera trapping combined with occupancy modeling can be a highly efficient and useful approach for monitoring and predicting the occurrence of elusive lemur species and has the potential to be effective for other arboreal primates and canopy taxa across the globe.

中文翻译：

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狐猴狗仔队：树栖相机捕捉和占用建模作为监测受威胁狐猴物种的保护工具

灵长类物种在世界范围内面临越来越大的灭绝风险。为了更好地保护其种群，需要有效的监测技术。本研究的目的是评估树栖相机陷阱和占用模型作为受威胁狐猴物种保护工具的使用。该项目旨在 (1) 估计狐猴物种的占有率和检测概率，(2) 调查可能影响狐猴栖息地利用的因素，以及 (3) 确定地面或树栖相机是否更适合调查狐猴组合。我们在五个森林碎片（总陷阱夜 = 1770；900 个树栖陷阱之夜（134 个照片事件）；870 个地面陷阱之夜（2 个照片事件））和重新造林区（总陷阱夜 = 608；1 个照片事件）中进行了相机诱捕研究2019 年 5 月至 9 月在马达加斯加的 Kianjavato。Eulemur rufifrons ; ψ  = 0.54±  SD 0.03），快活的鼠标狐猴（Microcebus jollyae ; ψ  = 0.14±0.17），在大鼠狐猴（Cheirogaleus重大; ψ  = 0.42±0.30），红腹狐猴（Eulemur rubriventer ; ψ  = 0.24± 0.03) 和黑白领狐猴 ( Varecia variegata ; ψ = 0.24 ± 0.08)。树木直径、海拔、到村庄的距离和冠层连通性是占用率的重要预测因子，而相机高度、冠层连通性、碎片 ID 和碎片大小预测检测。与地面相机相比，树栖相机记录的物种丰富度明显更高。我们建议在未来的研究中扩大树栖相机陷阱的应用，但我们建议更长的捕获时间以更好地采样稀有物种。总体而言，树栖相机捕获与占用建模相结合可以成为监测和预测难以捉摸的狐猴物种发生的高效和有用的方法，并且有可能对全球其他树栖灵长类动物和树冠类群有效。