Using Non-invasive Camera Trapping at UC Fort Ord Natural Reserve

UC Santa Cruz's Fort Ord Natural Reserve contains a wide range of habitat types, including coast live oak woodlands, California annual grasslands, and the rare maritime chaparral. The Reserve is an often-used site for ecological research, and large numbers of cover boards, pit traps, and Sherman traps can be found interspersed throughout it at any given time; all intended for investigating populations of small animals. The latter two methods each carry some risk of mortality or harm for the organisms that wander into them, and this risk is felt especially keenly when studying rare or endangered species. As my senior capstone project, I collaborated on a pilot study investigating small animal use of camera trap boxes - a relatively new and non-invasive technique of monitoring wildlife.