Camera trapping, the technology for capturing animals on film without the researcher in the field, is dramatically increased throughout the world in recent decades (see the book Camera Traps in Animal Ecology: Methods and Analyses). China, one of the most important biodiversity hotspots, also initiated a series of camera trapping projects since the 1990s to survey the wildlife. In November 2014, Biodiversity Science, a top journal of biodiversity conservation in Chinese, published a special issue to review the camera trapping researches in China.
Studies in this special issue covered a wide range of vegetation habitats, including the boreal forests, deciduous to evergreen forests, tropical rainforests, and even the desert, gobi, and tundra. In these studies, researchers published numerous new records in their provinces, or re-discovered species that were not recorded in recent 20-30 years. Some notable species in China, such as the giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca, tiger Panthera tigris, and snow leopard Uncia uncia, were also reported. Additionally, researchers had collected hundreds of thousands of valuable photos that were digitally deposited in CameraData, a network for wildlife diversity monitoring in China. To date, CameraData has more than 656,000 photographs uploaded from 37 research sites. The number of photos in this database is still quickly increasing, probably more than 200,000 per year.
Below is the list of articles published in this special issue, including four review articles, eight research articles and 16 catalogue reports – I contributed a catalogue report and co-authored a research article. All 30 articles are open accessed for free download (click the link of each article).
Editorial
- 683 Applications of camera trapping to wildlife surveys in China. Zhishu Xiao, Xinhai Li, Guangshun Jiang
Review
- 685 Camera-trapping in wildlife research and conservation in China: review and outlook. Sheng Li, Dajun Wang, Zhishu Xiao, Xinhai Li, Tianming Wang, Limin Feng, Yun Wang
- 696 Infrared camera traps in wildlife research and monitoring in China: issues and insights. Lvbing Zhang, Shaopeng Cui, Yuanjun Huang, Daiqiang Chen, Huijie Qiao, Chunwang Li, Zhigang Jiang
- 704 Developing camera-trapping protocols for wildlife monitoring in Chinese forests. Zhishu Xiao, Xinhai Li, Xuezhi Wang, Qihai Zhou, Ruichang Quan, Xiaoli Shen, Sheng Li
- 712 An introduction to CameraData: an online database of wildlife camera trap data. Zhishu Xiao, Xuezhi Wang, Xinhai Li
Research Article
- 717 Distribution and abundance of Amur tiger, Amur leopard and their ungulate prey in Hunchun National Nature Reserve, Jilin. Wenhong Xiao, Limin Feng, Xiaodan Zhao, Haitao Yang, Hailong Dou, Yanchao Cheng, Pu Mou, Tianming Wang, Jianping Ge
- 725 On the assessment of big cats and their prey populations based on camera trap data. Zhilin Li, Aili Kang, Jianmin Lang, Yangang Xue, Yi Ren, Zhiwen Zhu, Jianzhang Ma, Peiqi Liu, Guangshun Jiang
- 733 Using camera trap to monitor a North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonesis) population and their main ungulate prey. Dazhao Song, Buping Wang, Jinyuan Jiang, Shaoping Wan, Shiming Cui, Tianming Wang, Limin Feng
- 737 Seasonal activity patterns of ungulates in Qinling Mountains based on camera-trap data. Xiaodong Jia, Xuehua Liu, Xingzhong Yang, Pengfeng Wu, Melissa Songer, Qiong Cai, Xiangbo He, Yun Zhu
- 746 Grouping behavior of wild camel (Camelus ferus) referred from video data of camera trap in Kumtag Desert. Yadong Xue, Fang Liu, Yuguang Zhang, Diqiang Li
- 752 Monitoring activity rhythms of Equus hemionus at watering holes by camera traps in Mount Kalamaili Ungulate Nature Reserve, Xinjiang. Hongpan Wu, Hongjun Chu, Yuan Wang, Jianwei Ma, Yan Ge, Lan Bu
- 758 Is nocturnal rhythm of Asian badger (Meles leucurus) caused by human activity? A case study in the eastern area of Qinghai Lake. Feng Li, Zhigang Jiang
- 764 Camera traps and the minimum trapping effort for ground-dwelling mammals in fragmented habitats in the Thousand Island Lake, Zhejiang Province. Aichun Xu, Xingfeng Si, Yanping Wang, Ping Ding (Contributed from our research group)
Catalogue Report
- 773 Preliminary survey of mammal diversity by camera traps and line transects in Shuanghe National Nature Reserve, Northeast China. Peng Zhang, Guangshun Jiang, Zhishu Xiao
- 776 Camera trapping survey of mammals and birds in Tianma National Nature Reserve, China. Wenliang Zhou, Tao Pan, Bin Li, Jinyun Chen, Tao Song, Zhaojie Peng, Guochen Zhang, Faguang Pu, Baowei Zhang
- 779 Using camera trap to investigate animal diversity in Hunan Gaowangjie National Nature Reserve. Fang Liu, Xiujiang Su, Diqiang Li, Benzhong Wang, Ziliang Zhang
- 785 Camera trap survey of mammals and birds in Huaping National Nature Reserve, Guangxi. Guohai Wang, Zepan Shi, Xiuju Liu, Qihai Zhou, Zhishu Xiao
- 788 Mammal and bird diversity in Qingchengshan Forest Park, Southwest China: data from camera traps. Zhishu Xiao, Xuezhi Wang, Xiaoqun Huang
- 794 Wildlife diversity after Wenchuan Earthquake: a case from Guangguangshan Valley of Longxi-Hongkou National Nature Reserve, Southwest China. Zhishu Xiao, Li Hu, Xiang Wang, Tao Shang, Dahai Zhu, Zhilong Zhao, Xiaoqun Huang
- 798 Preliminary analysis of mammal and bird diversity monitored with camera traps in Medog, Tibet. Lijia Wen, Kun Shi, Jian Huang, Yang Song, Yumin Guo
- 800 Camera trap survey of wildlife in Buergen Beaver National Nature Reserve, Xinjiang. Yuanchao Liu, Howman Wong, Hongjun Chu, Dongzhi Liu, Fan Zhang, Gang Chen, Yingjie Qi
- 804 Monitoring birds and mammals through camera traps in Mount Kalamaili Ungulate Nature Reserve, Xinjiang. Tancheng Dong, Hongjun Chu, Hongpan Wu, Yuan Wang, Yan Ge, Lan Bu
Catalogue Report (Forest Dynamics Plots)
- 808 An introduction to wildlife camera trapping monitoring from Chinese Forest Biodiversity Monitoring Network (CForBio). Zhishu Xiao
- 810 Camera trap survey of mammals and birds in Changbaishan Forest Dynamics Plot, Northeast China. Xinhai Li, Zhengji Piao, Yaoxiang Wu, Haicheng Zhou, Peng Zhang, Bingwan Liu, Xiaoqun Huang, Zhishu Xiao
- 813 Preliminary records of mammals and birds by camera traps in Baotianman Forest Dynamics Plot, Central China. Zhishu Xiao, Xiaojun Du, Xuezhi Wang, Xiaoqun Huang, Manyu Yan
- 816 A survey of mammals and birds using camera traps in Badagongshan Forest Dynamics Plot, Central China. Wenhua Xie, Xifu Yang, Jiajie Yu, Junnian Li, Shuanglun Tao, Zhijun Lu, Xuezhi Wang, Zhishu Xiao
- 819 Camera trap survey on population dynamics of mammals and birds in Gutianshan Forest Dynamics Plot, eastern China. Xingfeng Si, Ping Ding (Contributed from our research group)
- 823 Camera trap survey of mammals and birds in Dinghushan Forest Dynamics Plot, Southern China. Zhishu Xiao, Linfang Wu, Linfang Tang, Xueli Lu, Zhongliang Huang, Wanhui Ye, Xiaoqun Huang
- 826 Estimation of species richness of mammals and birds using camera traps in Nonggang Forest Dynamics Plot, South China. Zepan Shi, Qihai Zhou, Xiankun Li, Zhishu Xiao
- 830 Camera trap survey of animals in Xishuangbanna Forest Dynamics Plot, Yunnan. Mingxia Zhang, Lin Cao, Ruichang Quan, Zhishu Xiao, Xiaofei Yang, Wenfu Zhang, Xuezhi Wang, Xiaobao Deng