Camera Trapping

500 species of mammals have been recorded for Colombia^1,2. However, the current state of knowledge for this group is considered to be incomplete². This is partly due to the armed conflict, which has prevented access to large and important areas of the territory, and also to difficulties associated with research methods for the taxonomic group. Mammal diversity is greatest in bats (205 species) and rodents (124 species). The other 171 species of mammals need sampling methods with a certain degree of specialization.

Land mammals, both medium and large, need big research efforts. The sampling techniques to study them are based on traps, preserved specimens, sightings, and traces such as footprints, dens, odors, and skeletal remains. These data have been recorded in the Sistema de Información sobre Biodiversidad (Biodiversity Information System Colombia). The database includes information on mammals from the year 1947 to the date.

In this collection, the data that stand out are those produced in the decade of the 70s by the Instituto Nacional de los Recursos Naturales Renovables y del Ambiente (National Institute of Renewable Natural Resources and Environment) ³ and the 1,058 records of capybaras in 2003, that were sighted in a project designed to evaluate their population status⁴. Between the years 2006 and 2009 most records were registered by Isagen as part of sightings in hydroelectric dams in Antioquia and Caldas⁵. Other records are occasional and are not part of a project focused solely on this taxonomic group, except the mammal inventories completed in 2015 ^6,7.

Since 2009, there are also records produced by camera trapping, a sampling method that is not invasive and obtains data of medium and large land mammals in a short period of time. Therefore, camera trapping is a tool for conserving biodiversity that may quickly generate information about presence, distribution, and population sizes. Yet in some cases data processing may take longer than usual due to the amount that is collected.

The information that is available in SiB Colombia includes data of medium and large land mammals for the last 70 years and represents 29 states and 20 % of the country’s municipalities. Despite this coverage, there are no records for Guaviare, La Guajira, and Sucre. In the seven years of camera trapping records 19 states and 7 % of all municipalities in the country have been sampled. In both cases, the low number of sampling localities in the Amazon region and its transition to the Orinoco is evident. There is greatest coverage of camera trapping data for the Caribbean region, and other sampling techniques mainly cover the Andean and Pacific regions.

Nationally, many institutions have used camera trapping as a tool to sample this taxonomic group, but until now there was no formal articulation or preliminary analysis of the information. The analysis presented here is the result of a consolidated dataset in which 20 institutions and 45 researchers participated. The challenges for the use of this technique in Colombia are centered around increasing geographic and taxonomic representation, combining and proposing new sampling and analysis methods, reducing data processing times, and searching for ways to effectively reach decision makers, who require useful and specialized information to design ideal strategies of conservation and management.