Wildlife monitoring

Wildlife monitoring is the repeated collection of data on wild populations to track their distribution, abundance, or condition over time.

Distance sampling: A survey method that estimates animal abundance from distances between observers and detected animals. It adjusts counts for animals missed farther from observers.
Population viability analysis: A modeling approach that estimates extinction risk from population data and projected threats. Monitoring supplies demographic estimates used to assess persistence.
Wildlife population: A group of individuals of the same species living in a defined area and interacting over time. Monitoring measures changes in these groups rather than isolated sightings.
Wildlife census: An attempt to count every individual in a defined wildlife population at a specified time. A census aims at a complete count, while monitoring repeats measurements and may sample.
Occupancy modeling: A statistical method that estimates species presence while accounting for imperfect detection. Repeated surveys distinguish true absence from failure to detect a species.
Protected area: A geographically defined area managed to conserve nature and associated cultural values. Repeated surveys can test whether protection is maintaining wildlife populations.
Biodiversity: The variety of life across genes, species, and ecosystems. Wildlife monitoring provides observations about selected parts of biodiversity.
Remote sensing: The acquisition of information about places or objects without direct physical contact, often by satellite or aircraft. It measures habitat and landscape change, whereas wildlife monitoring targets populations or their condition.
Mark–recapture: A method that estimates population size or survival by tracking marked individuals across capture occasions. Individual encounters reveal demographic patterns that raw counts cannot.
Wildlife corridor: A habitat link that enables wildlife movement between separated areas. Monitoring movement and occupancy can show whether a corridor connects populations.

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