Estimation of Caiman crocodilus (Crocodilia: Alligatoridae) abundance in Caño Negro, Costa Rica, with the N-mixture model
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22458/urj.v11i2.2296Keywords:
conservation, nocturnal visual counts, population size, wildlife management, Messel method, monitoring.Abstract
the size (N) of the crocodilian populations can rarely be determined accurately. Objective: to compare methods, the abundance of Caiman crocodilus was estimated for a single population in Costa Rica with spatially replicated counts, with the N-mixture Model and the Messel Method. Methods: I counted caimans at night along 21km of the river Frío (Betel-Boga Sabogal). I divided the stretch into 32 segments (500m) spaced 200m from each other. Results: the N-Mixture model produced an estimate of 2 162 individuals and the Messel 373. Conclusion: spatially replicated counts, analyzed with the N-Mixture model, seem to provide more reliable data.
References
Allsteadt, J., & Vaughan, C. (1992). Population status of Caiman crocodilus (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) in Caño Negro, Costa Rica. Brenesia, 38, 57-64.
Aranda-Coello, J.M. (2016). Factores ambientales que influyen en la abundancia del Caiman crocodilus (Crocodilia: Alligatoridae) en el Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Caño Negro, Costa Rica. Brenesia, 85-86, 38-42.
Balaguera-Reina, S.A., & González-Maya. J.F. (2009). Percepciones, conocimiento y relaciones entre los Crocodylia y dos poblaciones humanas cercanas a la Vía Parque Isla de Salamanca (Caribe colombiano). Revista de Biología Marina y Oceanografía, 44(1), 145-152.
Cabrera-Peña, J., Protti-Quesada, M., Urriola-Hernández, M., & Cubero-Murillo, R. (2003). Distribución y abundancia de Caiman crocodilus en el Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Caño Negro, Costa Rica. Revista de Biología Tropical, 51(2), 568-577.
Cabrera, J., & Solano, Y. (1997). Evaluación del estado de la población de Caiman crocodilus chiapasius en el Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Caño Negro (RNVSCN) y su factibilidad de uso sustentable, en el desarrollo económico social de una comunidad rural, Costa Rica (Informe técnico sin publicar). COECO -Amigos de la Tierra Costa Rica-España.
Cerrato, C. (1991). Composición y tamaño de poblaciones silvestres de caimanes (Caiman crocodilus chiapasius) y cocodrilos (Crocodylus acutus) de la costa Caribe de Honduras, Centro Américano (tesis de maestría sin publicar). Manejo y Conservación de Vida Silvestre para Mesoamérica, Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica.
Chabreck, R.H. (1966). Methods of determining the size and composition of alligator population in Louisiana. Proceedings of the Annual Conference Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 20, 105-112.
Da Silveira, R., Magnusson, W.E., & Campos, Z. (1997). Monitoring the distribution, abundance and breeding areas of Caiman crocodilus crocodilus and Melanosuchus niger in the Anavilhanas Archipelago, Central Amazonia, Brazil. Journal of Herpetology, 31(4), 514-520. DOI: 10.2307/1565603
Da Silveira, R., Magnusson, W.E., & Thorbjarnarson, J.B. (2008). Factors affecting the number of caimans seen during spotlight surveys in the Mamirauá Reserve, Brazilian Amazonia. Copeia, 2008(2), 425-431. DOI: 10.1643/CE-06-035
Dail, D., & Madsen, L. (2011). Models for estimating abundance from repeated counts of an open metapopulation. Biometrics, 67(2), 577-587. DOI: 10.1111/j.1541-0420.2010.01465.x
Fujisaki, I., Mazzotti, F.J., Dorazio, R.M., Rice, K.G., Cherkiss, M., & Jeffery, B. (2011). Estimating trends in alligator populations from nightlight survey data. Wetlands, 31(1), 147-155. DOI: 10.1007/s13157-010-0120-0
García-Grajales, J., Aguirre-León, G., & Contreras-Hernández, A. (2007). Tamaño y estructura poblacional de Crocodylus acutus (Cuvier 1807) (Reptilia: Crocodylidae) en el estero la Ventanilla, Oaxaca, México. Acta zoológica mexicana, 23(1), 53-71. DOI: 10.21829/azm.2007.231558
Holdridge, L.R. (1947). Determination of world plant formations from simple climatic data. Science, 105(2727), 367-368. DOI: 10.1126/science.105.2727.367
Junier, E.F. (2000). Análisis de la población de Caiman crocodilus en el Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Caño Negro, Costa Rica (tesis de licenciatura sin publicar). Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica.
Kery, M., Dorazio, R.M., Soldaat, L., van Strien, A., Zuiderwijk, A., & Royle, J.A. (2009). Trend estimation in populations with imperfect detection. Journal of Applied Ecology, 46(6), 1163-1172. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01724.x
Link, W.A., & Nichols, J.D. (1994). On the importance of sampling variance to investigations of temporal variation in animal population size. Oikos, 69(3), 539-544. DOI: 10.2307/3545869
Llobet, A., & Seijas, A.E. (2003). Estado poblacional y lineamientos de manejo del caimán del Orinoco (Crocodylus intermedius) en el río Capanaparo, Venezuela. En R. Polanco-Ochoa (Ed.), Manejo de fauna silvestre en Amazonia y Latinoamérica (pp. 117-129). V Congreso Internacional CITES, Bogotá, Colombia: Fundación Natura.
MacKenzie, D.I., Nichols, J.D., Hines, J.E., Knutson, M.G., & Franklin, A.B. (2003). Estimating site occupancy, colonization and local extinction probabilities when a species is not detected with certainty. Ecology, 84(8), 2200-2207. DOI: 10.1890/02-3090
Messel, H., Vorlicek, G.C., Wells, A.G., & Green, W.J. (1981). Surveys of tidal river systems in Northern Territory of Australia and their crocodile populations (Monograph). Oxford, New York: Pergamon Press.
Newell, J. (2001). Population status of the caimans, Caiman crocodilus, Melanosuchus niger and Paleosuchus palpebrosus in the Yavari River, north Peruvian Amazonia and some aspects of their ecology (Unpublished Bachelor’s Thesis). University of Kent, Kent, United Kingdom.
Ojasti, J., & Dallmeier, F. (Eds.). (2000). Manejo de fauna silvestre neotropical (Series # 5). Washington D.C., U.S.A.: Smithsonian Institution/MAB Biodiversity Program.
Pacheco, L.F. (1996). Effects of Environmental Variables on Black Caiman Counts in Bolivia. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 24(1), 44-49.
Pollock, K.H. (1982). A capture-recapture design robust to unequal probability of capture. Journal of Wildlife Management, 46(3), 752-757. DOI: 10.2307/3808568
Rebêlo, G.H. & Lugli, L. (2001). Distribution and abundance of four caiman species (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) in Jaú National Park, Amazonas, Brazil. Revista de Biologia Tropical, 49(3-4), 1096-1109.
Ron, S.R., Vallejo, A., & Asanza, E. (1998). Human influence on the wariness of Melanosuchus niger and Caiman crocodilus in Cuyabeno, Ecuador. Journal of Herpetology, 32(3), 320-324. DOI: 10.2307/1565444
Royle, J.A. (2004). N-Mixture Models for estimating population size from spatially replicated counts. Biometrics, 60(1), 108-115. DOI: 10.1111/j.0006-341X.2004.00142.x
Royle, J.A., & Dorazio, R.M. (2006). Hierarchical models of animal abundance and occurrence. Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics, 11(3), 249-263. DOI: 10.1198/108571106X129153
Royle, J.A., & Dorazio, R.M. (2008). Hierarchical modeling and inference in ecology: the analysis of data from populations, metapopulations and communities (1st ed.). California, EE. UU: Academic Press. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-374097-7.00025-9
Royle, J.A., Kéry, M., Gautier, R., & Schmid, H. (2007). Hierarchical spatial models of abundance and occurrence from imperfect survey data. Ecological Monographs, 77(3), 465-481. DOI: 10.1890/06-0912.1
Saénz, I. (2001). Variación estacional de la comunidad íctica según el nivel de agua, en el sector Playuelas, Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Caño Negro, Alajuela, Costa Rica (tesis de licenciatura). Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica.
Schmidt, B.R. (2005). Monitoring the distribution of pond-breeding amphibians when species are detected imperfectly. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 15(6), 681-692. DOI: 10.1002/aqc.740
Tejado, C. (2012). Abundancia de Melanosuchus niger Spix, 1825, Paleosuchus trigonatus Schneider, 1801 y Caiman crocodilus L., 1758 en el cauce medio del río Mazán (Amazonas, Perú). Munibe, 60, 113-130.
Ulloa-Delgado, G., & Gavanzo-Ulloa, D. (2003). Conservación, manejo y uso sostenible de la babilla (Caiman crocodilus fuscus) en la bahía de Cispatá. Etapa I. Caracterización y Diagnóstico de las poblaciones de Caiman crocodilus fuscus y su hábitat natural. Cispatá, Colombia: Montería
Velasco, A., & Ayarzaguena, J. (1995). Situación actual de las poblaciones de baba (Caiman crocodilus) sometidas a aprovechamiento comercial en los Llanos Venezolanos. España: Asociación Amigos de Doñana.
Velasco, A., & Ayarzaguena, J. (2010). Proyecto MARNR-CITES: Situación Actual de las Poblaciones Venezolanas de Baba (Caiman crocodilus), Sometidas a Aprovechamiento. MARNR-PROFAUNA, Caracas, Venezuela.
Williams, B.K., Nichols, J.D., & Conroy, M.J. (2002) Analysis and management of animal populations (1st ed.). California, EE. UU.: Academic Press.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Note: This abstract contains an incorrect copyright due to technical issues. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal
All journal contents are freely available through a CC BY 4.0 license.
CC BY 4.0 is a Creative Commons: you can copy, modify, distribute, and perform, even for commercial reasons, without asking permission, if you give appropriate credit.
Contents can be reproduced if the source and copyright are acknowledged according to the Open Access license CC BY 4.0. Self-storage in preprint servers and repositories is allowed for all versions. We encourage authors to publish raw data and data logs in public repositories and to include the links with all drafts so that reviewers and readers can consult them at any time.
The journal is financed by public funds via Universidad Estatal a Distancia and editorial independence and ethical compliance are guaranteed by the Board of Editors, UNED. We do not publish paid ads or receive funds from companies.