##  [Using Remote Camera Traps to Monitor Population Demographics and Community Ecology of Divii (Dall’s sheep): Part of a Community-based Monitoring Program in the Northern Richardson Mountains, NT](/resource/using-remote-camera-traps-monitor-population-demographics-and-community-ecology-divii) 

Organization

[University of Victoria (UVic)](/organization/university-victoria-uvic-0)

 

 

Project

[Theses - University of Victoria (UVic)](/project/theses-university-victoria-uvic)

 

Resource Type

[Thesis](/taxonomy/term/1407)

 

 

Author(s)

Sydney Goward

 

 

Original Authors

Sydney Goward

 

 

Resource Date:

2024

 

Page Length

127

 

 

The warming Arctic is undergoing rapid ecological change, influencing wildlife populations, mammal  
community interactions, and ultimately, the persistence of many species. Collecting the species  
monitoring data required for sound stewardship decisions in these remote areas is a major challenge.  
Remote wildlife cameras, facilitated through community-based monitoring programs, offer a solution to  
provide these critical data. In this thesis, I employed novel methods in remote camera trapping as part  
of a community-based monitoring program to investigate Dall’s sheep population demography and  
predator-prey dynamics with grizzly bears. In Chapter 2, I explored the ability of remote wildlife cameras  
to estimate population demographics (lamb:nursery, ram:nursery, and ram classification proportions),  
as compared to currently standardized aerial surveys. These metrics are imperative to assessing  
population status and predicting population trends. I found that camera data, accumulated sufficiently  
through time and discretized in appropriate biological seasons produced reliable lamb:nursery,  
ram:nursery, and ram classification proportions comparable to those obtained from aerial surveys, and  
produced similar population status trends between the two methods. To my knowledge, this is the first  
study employing remote cameras to estimate productivity (lamb:nursery ratio) and adult sex ratios in a  
wild, un-marked sheep population, and marks a significant advancement in wildlife monitoring with  
remote cameras. In Chapter 3, I examined the temporal coexistence of Dall’s sheep and grizzly bears, in  
a core habitat area, at different times of the year. I used remote camera data to derive a time-to-event  
model investigating if and how grizzly bears are tracking nursery groups and ram bands. I also evaluated  
the differences and similarities in diel activity patterns between the species to estimate temporal niche  
partitioning. I found clear temporal segregation of nursery groups and grizzly bears, and showed that  
grizzly bears were more closely tracking nursery groups than ram bands, especially early in the spring  
when lambs are most vulnerable to predation. The results indicate that camera traps can yield fineresolution insights into predator-prey relationships. This study provides a new method to monitor Dall’s  
sheep population demography, as well as new information on Dall’s sheep and grizzly bear relationships.  
Incorporating a remote camera system into wildlife monitoring programs allows for a more  
comprehensive examination of demography, while fostering an opportunity to explore further questions  
related to community-based monitoring and management.