1. AUTOMATED CAMERA TRAPPING OF MAMMALS ON THE FIRESTONE RESERVE, COSTA RICA DEVYN PARKS

2. Between 1950-1994 Costa Rica had the fastest rate of deforestation in the western hemisphere (Borges-Mendez, Ramon., 2008) Caused by colonization schemes, agricultural expansion, and increased cattle ranching COSTA RICA’S ECOLOGICAL HISTORY

3.  60 hectare (150 acre) property located on the southwest coast of Costa Rica  Originally lowland forest until it was cleared for cattle farming in the 1950’s and 1960’s  Since 1993 the property has been under restoration  Hacienda Baru is 830 acres of protected area including primary, secondary and selectively logged tropical wet forest. FIRESTONE CENTER FOR RESTORATION ECOLOGY

4. 5 sub-habitats Open secondary forest Closed secondary forest Primary forest An abandoned banana plantation Bamboo plantation FIRESTONE CENTER FOR RESTORATION ECOLOGY

5. PURPOSE OF EXPERIMENT Cameras are a very efficient, low cost way to estimate species richness in an area without disturbing natural habitats or behavioral patterns (Silveira, L., 2003) Extension of a project done in 2012 by Emily Cole Generate estimates of animal density Gather information about different animals and animal behaviors in the different habitats throughout the reserve.

6. 7 week time span 24 Bushnell Trail Trophy Cameras total set up in 3 sets of 8 10-20 second videos The cameras were placed either along cleared pathways or in square formations Each plot stayed for approximately 8 days before being moved METHODS

7.  Videos on the SD cards were reviewed  Each animal’s species was identified  Time stamps on each video were referred to prevent over counting the animals METHODS

8.  A formula based on an article by J. Marcus Rowcliffe was used to estimate the density CALCULATIONS

9. RESULTS Banana Trees Hacienda- clearing- pathYoga Studio Bamboo Lake Bamboo Trail Top Upper Loop Trail Top Acess Road Upper Access Road Nest Middle Loop Trail Lowest Path Access Road Lowest Square Access Road Lowest Loop Trail Agouti515020114 9922 Armadillo460000000001 Possum471120921000 Peccary61224002921223209 Paca7216001021000 Deer1413805022402 Coati690410081000 Mouse100000100010 Weasel010000000000 White- headed Capuchin020400030100 Squirrel020000000000 Ocelot000100400100 Nothern Tamandua000001120000 Figure 1. The number of animals found in each area of the Firestone Reserve over the span of 7-12 days.

10. RESULT Banana Trees Hacienda- clearing- pathYoga Studio Bamboo lake Bamboo trail Top upper loop trail Top Acess Road Upper Access Road Nest Middle loop trail Lowest path access road Lowest square access road Lowest loop trail Agouti0.00410.010100.00140 0.05710.02000.01290.03670.0029 Armadillo0.00330.00400000000000.0014 Possum0.00330.00470.00080.00070.004100.03670.00290.0014000 Peccary0.00500.00810.0185000.04140.00820.01710.03290.008100.0129 Paca0.00580.01410.0046000.001400.00290.0014000 Deer0.00080.00270.01000.005700.007100.0029 0.016300.0029 Coati0.00500.006100.00290.0020000.01140.0014000 Mouse0.0008000000.00410000.00140 Weasel00.00070000000000 White- headed Capuchin00.001300.00290000.00430 00 Squirrel0 0.0013 0000000000 Ocelot0000.000700 000.004000 Nothern Tamandua000000.00140.00410.00290000 Figure 2. The density of each animal in various areas of the Firestone Reserve in units of animal/night/m 2

11.  Largest density in the Hacienda-clearing-path, the banana trees, and along the upper access road next to an ant nest  Clear areas  Towards the west area of the reserve  Relatively near the Hacienda Baru border  Areas of least density tended to be in bamboo plantation and towards the east of the reserve CONCLUSION

12. The time and date feature was somewhat faulty Some SD cards did not collect videos and some of the cameras did not function properly To continue this project I would replace some of the memory cards and fix some of the cameras SOURCES OF ERROR

13. REFERENCES http://costarica.jsd.claremont.edu/index.shtml http://www.haciendabaru.com/hacienda-baru-history Borges-Mendez, Ramon. "Sustainable Development and Participatory Practices in Community Forestry: The Case of FUNDECOR in Costa Rica." Local Environment13.4 (2008): 365-83. Web. Rowcliffe, J. M. et al. 2008. Estimating animal density using camera traps without the need for individual recognition. Journal of Applied Ecology 45: 1228–1236 Silveira, L., Jacomo, A.T.A. & Diniz-Filho, J.A.F. (2003) Camera trap, line transect census and track surveys: a comparative evaluation.Biological Conservation, 114, 351–355.