Supporting Technical Assessments

Boffa Miskell Ltd | Pest Animal Management Plan | Wharekirauponga Compensation Package | 30 May 2022 41 image. As such, animals captured in both images should only be counted as a single capture during analysis. The camera trap index of relative abundance for feral cats, mustelids and rats is expressed as the mean number of feral cat, stoat, weasel, ferret or rat detections per 2000 camera hours (2000 CH) per camera trap line (Gillies, 2021). This is calculated as follows: 1. Total the number of detections on each camera and total these for each survey line. Do this separately for each of the target species. 2. Calculate the number of hours each camera was operating during the survey and total these for each line. For the purposes of this index, assume the camera traps have been operating from midday of the day they were set, until midday of the day they were recovered. So, for a 21-night survey session each camera is assumed to have been operating for 495 hours, with 4 cameras on a line (4 x 495 hours) the total is 1980 camera hours 3. If there is evidence to suggest a camera has malfunctioned during the survey, assume it was operating from midday of the day it was set, until either midday or midnight (whichever comes first) following the time stamp on the last photo taken. If no images are collected (including those of the operator placing or recovering the device) on a camera trap, assume the device has been inoperable for the duration of the survey. 4. Calculate the relative abundance index of the number of target animal detections (2000 CH) for each survey line based upon the following formula; do this separately for each of the target species: Detections per 2000 CH = (number of detections / number of camera trap hours) × 2000 5. Calculate the mean (average) number of target animal detections (2000 CH) over all the lines. To do this, add the number of target animal detections (2000 CH) from each line and divide the total by the number of lines. Do this separately for each species. 6. Calculate the standard error of the mean. The standard error (SE) is simply a measure of the precision of the mean. It is often very useful to express the mean number of target animal detections (2000 CH) plus or minus SE. If you use a calculator with statistics functions you can calculate the standard deviation (ᵟn-1 button) of your sample (of the target animal detections (2000 CH) from each of your survey lines). The standard error can then be calculated from the standard deviation. The standard error is equal to the standard deviation divided by the square root of the sample size, which for these surveys is the square root of the number of lines. Do this separately for each species. Note this index may change based on any new best practice guidelines released by DOC. 10.4 Monitoring for ungulates As the target for this WAPMP is zero density, with the threshold for additional control “any sign” of feral ungulates, a single monitoring method is not proposed. Instead, ungulate sign may include faecal pellets, camera trap imagery, prints, and pig rooting. Experienced hunter(s) will also be brought in four times a year around the time of the quarterly predator monitoring (i.e. deployment of chew cards and camera traps), to check for sign. Faecal pellets are widely recognised as a useful and efficient method of monitoring ungulates. Faecal pellet counts have been widely used to index deer abundance and population change,

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