May 2022 - Writing and Language Test Q 23-33

Caught on Camera

Conservation ecologists and biologists need effective methods of collecting information about animal populations- Traditional methods for gathering these data include using 23 humane box traps to capture animals, but recent technological advances have made camera trapping—a data-collection method in which remote cameras are triggered by animals’ presence or set to take pictures at regular intervals—a viable alternative. In a study published in 2017, Texas A&M University researchers performed an experiment to compare the two methods.

For the first part of their study. 24 with the researchers setting box traps in two locations within Texas’s Sabine National Forest. [2] The next fall, the research team removed the box traps and 25 would mount digital cameras traps, each of which took a picture every 30 seconds (a frequency that would enable the cameras to capture images of any reptiles passing by their lenses), in the same two locations- [3] The researchers left the cameras in place for 56 days, and at the end of the period they analyzed the 166,840 pictures that had been produced. [4] Over 51 days, the 26 researcher's checked the trap's every three days to identify and tally all scaled reptiles, such as snakes, caught in the traps. 27

Comparing the population data collected using box traps 28 with the camera traps, the researchers found that the camera traps were able to provide information about more species of reptiles than the box traps did. The । box traps were able to capture just 29 7 species, all of which were lizards. In contrast, the camera traps detected 30 144 species of lizards, 6 species of snakes, and 150 total reptiles. Although the camera traps were unable to detect some of the snake species identified using the box traps, they were able to provide information on several lizard species that researchers suspected were able to evade the box traps.

Reptiles by Box Trap Captures

and Camera Trap Detections

Adapted from Connor S. Adams et al.. "Evaluating Effectiveness and Cost of Time-Lapse Triggered Camera Trapping Techniques to Detect Terrestrial Squamale Diversity-" ©2017 by Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.

Despite the attractiveness of camera trapping for gathering information, the researchers cautioned that the benefits of using box traps, 31 likewise, should not be disregarded. Among other advantages, box traps allow scientists to inspect animals more closely, perform health screenings, and collect genetic data. Depending on how often box traps are checked, camera trapping may also be more 32 expensive, especially for short-term studies. This is because initial start-up costs for camera traps are high. However, the experiment with the two types of traps 33 show that camera trapping can be an efficient tool for researchers to learn about an area’s animal populations.