Priceless monitoring without cost:
the significance of incidental detection of species to conservation efforts
David Jones1, Diogo Verissimo1 and Rebeca Chaverri1
1Global Vision International Costa Rica, Apartado Postal 78-7209, Cariari de Pococí, Limón, Costa Rica.
Email: costarica@gvi.co.uk
Introduction
The goals of any field station should
include increasing the scientific knowl-
edge and contributing to the better
management of the area in which they
are based. At Caño Palma Biological
Station (CPBS), Global Vision Interna-
tional Costa Rica (GVICR) are recording
Developing the study
CPBS, owned by the Canadian Organization
for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conser-
vation (COTERC), is home to staff, researchers
and volunteers to varying degrees throughout
the year. The original concept was to document
the baseline species composition for the station
and continue to monitor over time to build up
a better understanding of the seasonal utiliza-
tion of the station. Changes to the local environ-
ment would be expected to impact the species
composition observed and could be further
investigated to provide information useful to the
management of the area.
The organizations and visiting researchers
working from CPBS have full-time commitments
to several large monitoring and conservation
programs, together with the day-to-day running
of the station itself. As such, and with so many
conservation efforts, resources are extremely
limited. Because of this the study was designed
to be conducted incidentally by all personnel
present at the station. The limits of the study are
set to animal species identified on or from the
property borders. No special effort or resourc-
es are allocated to the detection of species - all
species observed during day-to-day activities
are recorded in the main room of the station.
2007 During the first year of the study,
all personnel arriving at the station were asked
to record all species that they could positively
identify in this way, including information about
the number of individuals and area of the station
species were observed. The premise of the study
was explained and some of the most commonly
seen species described. As the study takes place
at a biological station, all personnel had access
# Days Recorded
400 500 600 700 800
Manacus candei
Pitangus sulphuratus
Alouatta palliata
Psarocolius montezuma
Euphonia gouldi
Turdus grayi
Iguana iguana
Querula purpurata
Species
Ramphastos sulfuratus
Dendrobates pumilio
Pteroglossus torquatus
Rhynchonycteris naso
Rhamphastos swainsonii
Trogon massena
Basiliscus plumifrons
Gonatodes albogularis
Phaethornis longirostris
Patagioenas nigrirostris
Ameiva festiva
Bufo marinus
Table 1: Top five most
recorded species
by class.
Author Contacts: Olive-backed Euphonia
GVI Costa Rica Clay-colored Robin
costarica@gvi.co.uk
The GVI Costa Rica Incidental Species Study is carried out
in partnership with the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET).
GVI Costa Rica wish to thank all the staff and volunteers who have contributed
to the collection of data, and the Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and
Rainforest Conservation (COTERC).
MINAET
the species incidentally detected around
the property, set in the southern extent
of Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge,
Costa Rica.
Beginning in 2007, GVICR developed
a methodology that requires minimal to
no expertise to establish and accounts
to a variety of field guides and often to more
experienced researchers to verify sightings. No
record is made unless there was certainty of the
species.
Due to the variation in knowledge and
experience of station personnel the study was
limited to the most obvious and easily identified
and verified classes: amphibia, reptilia, aves and
mammalia.
Each morning at 6am the species recorded for
the past 24 hours were transcribed into a log
book, before later being added to a database
managed by a staff member.
For the year 5,957 separate records were made,
of 190 species.
2008 For the second year of the study,
identification plates were designed to help
facilitate species identification and remind
personnel to record any sightings. The data
collection was simplified to record only the
species presence on the property each day,
without number of individuals or location. The
plates displayed approximately 120 of the most
commonly recorded species from 2007, with
an additional blank plate where other species
could be recorded.
When less common species were recorded the
sighting was signed with the recorders initials for
verification by a staff member.
The plates were laminated and placed
prominently in the main room of the station.
Next to the picture of each species was a tick-
box to be marked with a dry-wipe marker when
the species was seen within the 24 hour period.
The simplification and visual aid appeared to be
Figure 1. Top 20 most
recorded species and
number of days recorded
(of a possible 922). Figure 2. Example of identification
plates displayed at the station to
aid identification and recording.
BIRDS MAMMALS
Species # Records Species # Records Species # Records Species # Records
White-collared manakin Mantled Howler Monkey
(Manacus candei) 831 (Alouatta palliata) 721
Great Kiskadee Brazilian Long-nosed Bat
(Pitangus sulphuratus) 817 (Rhynchonycteris naso) 540
Montezuma Oropendola Central American Spider
(Psarocolius montezuma) 715 Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) 331
White-throated Capuchin
(Euphonia gouldi) 690 (Cebus capucinus) 180
Mexican Mouse Opossum
(Turdus grayi) 610 (Marmosa mexicana) 114
Poster design: Theropod Design www.theropoddesign.co.uk
for variations in people’s knowledge and
effort to allow maximum accurate data
collection. Over time, the basic data
will help to document the presence of
species in the area, seasonal trends and
changes in species compositions.
popular and effective as 11,250 records of 274
species were recorded this year.
2009 To begin the third year of the study
the identification plates were slightly modified.
The number of species displayed was reduced
to around 100 to allow the images to be made
larger. We also identified eight target species
from the previous two years data collection.
The target species were selected based on the
following criteria:
• Known to occur in the area
• Conspicuous and where possible
charismatic to aid recall and identification
• Can be used as a bi-proxy indicator species
for one or more of the following: biodiversity,
environmental or ecological pressures.
Target species:
Great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) Benefits of the Study
Central American spider monkey (Ateles
geoffroyi)
Marine toad (Bufo marinus) wildlife for station personnel and guests
Strawberry poison-dart frog (Dendrobates
pumilio)
Green iguana (Iguana iguana)
Great potoo (Nyctibius grandis)
Neotropical river otter (Lontra longicaudis)
Black river turtle (Rhinoclemmys funereal)
The target species were given more promi-
nence, displayed four per A4 plate (as opposed
to the regular 12) and a text box explaining
the reason for their selection included to in-
crease awareness of the potential importance of
these species to the area. Until August we have
collected almost 8,000 records of over 230
species for 2009, resulting in almost 25,000
records of over 440 species to date.
AMPHIBIANS REPTILES
Strawberry Poison Dart Frog Green Iguana
(Dendrobates pumilio) 564 (Iguana iguana) 596
Marine Toad Green basilisk
(Bufo marinus) 475 (Basiliscus plumifrons) 489
Smoky Jungle Frog Yellow-headed gecko
(Leptodactylus pentadactylus) 203 (Gonatodes albogularis) 486
Common Tink Frog Central American Whiptail
(Herotilapia multispinisa) 160 (Ameiva festiva) 477
Fitzinger’s Rain Frog Spectacled Caiman
(Eleutherodactylus fitzingeri) 22 (Caiman crocodilus) 276
Applications
and Implications of
the Incidental Species Study
Key Management Points for the Incidental Species Study
• Simplification of the data and method of recording has allowed
wider participation in the study, which in turn has helped gain high-
er record numbers of a wider range of species.
• Using visual aids appears to have assisted in identification and
recall of species, together with increasing awareness of the study:
there is an initial increase in consistency of records for those
species pictured on ID plates and again for those species designated
as target species.
Limitations of the Study
• Due to the development of the study to fulfill the objective of
producing a monitoring program with little to no cost, it is difficult
to compare data between years.
•
• There are also inconsistencies in the data for times when very few
people were present at the station, making it difficult to establish
trends in the current data.
• The current incarnation of the study now appears to accurately
record species presence, but a lack of species record cannot auto-
matically be classed as an absence. For example, Manacus candei,
the most consistently recorded species at the station and is thought
to be resident to the property, was recorded for only 90% of study
days.
• Minimal start up or running costs
• Helps facilitate increased awareness and appreciation of the local
• The ID plates and log-book provide a point of interest and “guest
book” of species for visitors to the station
• Despite variations in personnel and expertise, the wide scope,
incidental nature and consistency of the study (daily) will account
for this over time
• Once protocols and management systems are set in place it will be
possible to quickly build a large and consistent dataset on a broad
spectrum of species.
• Minimal effort or expertise is required after the establishment of
the study; the study could be continued indefinitely
• The continuous nature of the survey and large dataset enables
errors to be accounted for when analyzing the data
Potential Data Uses
Trends
Over the period of data collection there has been an increase in the
number of records of Iguana iguana, with a positive trend line with
an r2 value of 82% - this is higher than expected based on modifica-
tions to the study alone.
With such an expansive dataset it would be possible to investigate
an array trends, from individuals species, to families or classes or
variations in diversity or temporal distribution.
Case studies
Quiscalus mexicanus was first recorded at CPBS in March 2009.
Common to urban areas but rare in extensively forested regions,
preferring degraded habitats, this bird was unknown to the Carib-
bean coast until the 1960s (Styles & Skutch, 1989) but is now resi-
dent in the area and has been recorded at the station every month
since March.
Basic species composition
The most basic application of the data is the documentation of
species present in the area. This methodology has shown to be a fast
and effective way of building a database of a wide range of conspic-
uous species and producing basic species lists for an area. This can
be further investigated to provide information on the wider area.
These are simple examples of how the data could be further
explored, either for individual species or in combination to increase
knowledge of an area and potentially assist in its management.
GVI Costa Rica collected data is available to parties interested in
further exploring these or other areas of interest and invite others
to adapt this study for their own use.
References
Stiles, F.G. & Skutch, A.F. (1989). A guide to the birds of Costa Rica.
Comstock Publishing Associates.