Data from: Adaptive data collection strategies for spatial capture-recapture monitoring: Linking monitoring approaches to seasonal variation in density and space use

Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling

Abstract

Effective monitoring of wildlife populations and their changes over time is essential for guiding conservation strategies. For monitoring to fulfil this role, large-scale and long-term resource commitments are required, yet are frequently lacking. Consequently, site-based monitoring of key species is often sporadic, inconsistent, and disconnected from wildlife agencies, reducing the role of monitoring in adaptive management. To overcome these challenges, Kenya’s wildlife management and research agencies coordinated and participated in three surveys that were designed to evaluate adaptable, search-encounter data collection strategies within a spatial capture-recapture (SECR) framework for lions (Panthera leo) under real-world monitoring constraints. Three surveys were conducted in Nairobi National Park, which lies in Kenya’s capital. The first survey was conducted by a multi-agency team of field biologists during the wet season (2018). The second and third surveys were conducted in the dry season (2021 and 2022) by trained wildlife enthusiasts and by field biologists participating in a SECR training workshop, respectively. The resulting estimates were used to assess their consistency with known spatiotemporal patterns of variation in lion population density. Our results were consistent with those reported in previous studies. Lion density (lions/100 km2) in the park was higher during the dry season (2021: 26.16, PSD=5.27; 2022: 28.05, PSD=5.18), compared to the wet season (2018: 16.77, PSD=4.27) when prey are dispersed outside the park. Movement for all lions (inferred by sex ratio-weighted spatial scale parameter, σw, in km) was largest during the wet season (2018: 3.38, PSD=0.7) compared to the dry season (2021: 1.38, PSD=0.2; 2022: 1.44, PSD=0.2). Lion activity centres were more clustered on the southern boundary of the park during the wet season compared to during the dry season. Our results support existing evidence that human-lion conflicts are more likely to peak during the wet season, thus providing key insights for the conservation of lions in this ecosystem. Our study demonstrates that monitoring constraints need not preclude adaptability, provided data collection evolves within a robust framework that yields comparable estimates and informs management interventions.

Authors 14

1. Mumbi Chege Aachen

   Leiden University · Wildlife Research and Training Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   Wildlife Research and Training Institute

   Leiden University

2. Arjun M. Gopalaswamy
   Affiliation as printed

   Carnassials Global

3. Elphas Bitok

   Wildlife Research and Training Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   Wildlife Research and Training Institute

4. Femke Broekhuis

   Wageningen University & Research

   Affiliation as printed

   Wageningen University & Research

5. Laura D. Bertola Aachen

   Leiden University · National Centre for Biological Sciences

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University

   National Centre for Biological Sciences

6. Linus Kariuki

   Kenya Wildlife Service

   Affiliation as printed

   Kenya Wildlife Service

7. Bernard Kuloba

   Wildlife Research and Training Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   Wildlife Research and Training Institute

8. Stephen Ndambuki Mwiu

   Wildlife Research and Training Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   Wildlife Research and Training Institute

9. Patrick Omondi

   Wildlife Research and Training Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   Wildlife Research and Training Institute

10. G.R. de Snoo Aachen

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden University

11. Nadia de Souza
    Affiliation as printed

    Lion Guardians

12. Grace Waiguchu

    Wildlife Research and Training Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    Wildlife Research and Training Institute

13. Hans H. de Iongh Aachen

    Leiden University · University of Antwerp

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden University

    University of Antwerp

14. Nicholas B. Elliot

    Nelson Mandela University

    Affiliation as printed

    Nelson Mandela University

    Wildlife Counts