학술논문

Drive counts fail to accurately estimate the population sizes of wild ungulates.
Document Type
Article
Source
Journal of Vertebrate Biology. 3/25/2024, Vol. 73 Issue 24002, p1-7. 7p.
Subject
*UNGULATES
*WILD boar
*RED deer
*ROE deer
*DEMOGRAPHIC surveys
*NATIONAL parks & reserves
Language
ISSN
2694-7684
Abstract
The accuracy of drive count and pellet group counts for estimating the community structure and density of wild ungulates was assessed in the Roztocze National Park (south-east Poland) from 2003 to 2021. The estimates varied greatly among methods and years. The largest errors were found for assessing ungulate density using drive counts, mainly due to insufficient blocks. Errors for the pellet group counts were small for red deer (Cervus elaphus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and moderate for wild boar (Sus scrofa). Therefore, it is suggested that the pellet group method should be given priority in surveys of ungulate population abundance in the Roztocze National Park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]