Camera Traps
Photo by TBS Camera Trap Program
Camera Trap Project at TBS
John Blake, University of Florida
Diego Mosquera, Universidad San Francisco de Quito
Our Camera Trap Project has been continuously monitoring terrestrial birds and mammals since 2004, using camera traps to generate information about their occurrence, distribution and relative abundance over time. The camera project has demonstrated to be a successful method to document occurrence and abundance of many species. It is particularly noteworthy the photographs of at least 20 different individuals of jaguars, photos of rare carnivores such as the short-eared dog and the bush dog, and the frequent photos of giant armadillos, tapirs, peccaries and other human hunted species. All these results emphasize the importance of preserving places like TBS, the quality of the forest and its conservation value.
The Camera Trap Project researchers are looking to obtain information from places like TBS, where there is no human hunting activity, so it can be compared with areas that suffer from this and other human related activities and subsequently create better standards for current or new protected areas.
You can read more about our Project in these articles:
Did you know that spix’s night monkeys only weigh around 1 kg? (Mongabay Series: Candid Animal Cam)
How loud are howler monkeys? (Mongabay Series: Candid Animal Cam)
Uncovering the private lives of Amazon wildlife through camera traps (Mongabay)
Videos reveal rare birds, wild monkeys, and jaguar family in oil-exploited park (Mongabay)
Could camera trap videos galvanize the world to protect Yasuni from oil drilling? (Mongabay)
Behold, the World's First Footage of the Super Elusive Dark Tree Rat (Motherboard)
Oil-Threatened Ecuador Is a Jaguar Hotspot (Motherboard)
You can learn more about our Camera Trap Project’s results in the following scientific articles:
Scavenging behavior of the Short-eared Dog (Atelocynus microtis) in Ecuadorian lowland rainforest. Lizana et al. (2020)
Wild dogs at stake: deforestation threatens the only Amazon endemic canid, the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis) Rocha et al. (2020)
Notes on the breeding biology of Rufous Potoos (Nyctibius bracteatus) in lowland Ecuadorian Amazon. Vinueza et al. (2019)
Patterns of mineral lick visitation by Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) in Eastern Ecuador. Mosquera et al. (2019)
Long-term variation in abundance of terrestrial mammals and birds in eastern Ecuador as measured by photographic rates and occupancy estimates. Blake et al. (2017)
Effects of human traffic on use of trails by mammals in lowland forest of eastern Ecuador. Blake et al. (2016)
New observations of living Echimys saturnus (dark tree rat, Echimyidae) from Eastern Ecuador. Mosquera et al. (2016)
Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) density in Eastern Ecuador based on capture-recapture analyses of camera trap data. Mosquera et al. (2016)
Spatial and temporal activity patterns of ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in lowland forest of eastern Ecuador. Blake et al. (2015)
Yasuní - a hotspot for jaguars Panthera onca (Carnivora: Felidae)? Camera traps and jaguar activity at Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Ecuador. Blake et al. (2014)
Camera trapping on and off trails in lowland forest of eastern Ecuador: Does location matter? Blake & Mosquera (2014)
Neotropical vulture scavenging succession at a Capybara carcass in eastern Ecuador. Mallon et al. (2013)
Temporal activity patterns of terrestrial mammals in lowland rainforest of Eastern Ecuador. Blake et al. (2012)
Use of mineral licks by mammals and birds in hunted and non-hunted areas of Yasuní National Park, Ecuador. Blake et al (2012)
Mineral licks as Diversity Hotsposts in Lowlands Forest of Eastern Ecuador. Blake et al (2011)
First record of a Canid (Atelocynus microtis) predating on a caecilian amphibian. Cisneros & Mosquera (2010)
New locality records and the first photographs of living Echimys saturnus (dark tree rat, Echimyidae) from Eastern Ecuador. Blake et al (2010)
Use of mineral licks by White-Bellied Spider Monkeys (Ateles belzebuth) and Red Howler Monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) in Eastern Ecuador. Blake et al. (2010)