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Trapping of terrestrial animals is an important tool for harvest, pest control and research worldwide. To catch animals alive, animal welfare has to be ensured, which is reflected in different agreements on trading and trapping of animals between sovereign nations (Council Regulation [EEC] No 3254/91). The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and stone marten (Martes foina) represent important predatory animals. Their influence on protected species as well as their increasing appearance in urban areas demand responsible handling. In our study, we evaluated 2 trap systems used for trapping red foxes and stone martens in accordance with criteria stipulated in the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS) and International Organisation for Standardisation 10990 Part 5 – Methods for Testing Restraining Traps (ISO 10990). In total, we captured 20 red foxes in a concrete pipe vault trap and 13 stone martens in a Strack’s wooden box trap in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and observed their behavior inside each trap. After anesthesia, a clinical examination of each animal was conducted, and blood and hair samples were taken. After euthanasia, radiological examinations of the full body were taken, and necropsies and histopathological investigations were performed. No trap-associated lesions were found. Hormone analysis showed no remarkable signs of stress for the animals, according to state-of-the-art methods. Apart from serum cortisol, the quotient of dehydroepiandrosterone in serum and hair seems to be the most predictive value on stress response of the 2 different species. Video observation of the trapped animals emerged as a valuable tool to estimate animal welfare by behavior. This study complements AIHTS and ISO 10990 criteria with results on behavior and hormone analysis, being an additional benefit when evaluating animal welfare of each trapping system.

Abstract Mole vole Ellobius lutescens Thomas, 1897 is an interesting subterranean animal. They live in rangelands, dryland farms, and gardens of the country and West Azarbaijan and cause serious damages to farmers. To conduct morphological and karyological studies, this animal needs to be raised. In the present study, designing a live trap for the first time in the country was carried out. To build a trap, the first step was to select the main body of the trap. In this case, the pvc pipe was selected because this trap is constantly used in the outdoor environment and will always struggle with the soil, moisture, and various environments, and there is a risk of rust, and also for the lightness of the trap and the ease of moving. According to the diameter of the well drilling tunnel, which is between five to six centimeters, a two-inch pipe with a diameter of 7 and a length of 30 cm was used. Using a trap, seven mole voles were collected alive that were identified after applying morphological and Karyological methods under the name Ellobius lutescens.

The ability to detect a species is central to the success of monitoring for conservation and management purposes, especially if the species is rare or endangered. Traditional methods, such as live capture, can be labor-intensive, invasive, and produce low detection rates. Technological advances and new approaches provide opportunities to more effectively survey for species both in terms of accuracy and efficiency than previous methods. We conducted a pilot comparison study of a traditional technique (live-trapping) and 2 novel noninvasive techniques (camera-trapping and ultrasonic acoustic surveys) on detection rates of the federally endangered Carolina northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus) in occupied habitat within the Roan Mountain Highlands of North Carolina, USA. In 2015, we established 3 5 × 5 livetrapping grids (6.5 ha) with 4 camera traps and 4 acoustic detectors systematically embedded in each grid. All 3 techniques were used simultaneously during 2 4-day survey periods. We compared techniques by assessing probability of detection (POD), latency to detection (LTD; i.e., no. of survey nights until initial detection), and survey effort. Acoustics had the greatest POD (0.37 ± 0.06 SE), followed by camera traps (0.30 ± 0.06) and live traps (0.01 ± 0.005). Acoustics had a lower LTD than camera traps (P = 0.017), where average LTD was 1.5 nights for acoustics and 3.25 nights for camera traps. Total field effort was greatest with live traps (111.9 hr) followed by acoustics (8.4 hr) and camera traps (9.6 hr), although processing and examination for data of noninvasive techniques made overall effort similar among the 3 methods. This pilot study demonstrated that both noninvasive methods were better rapid-assessment detection techniques for flying squirrels than live traps. However, determining seasonal effects between survey techniques and further development of protocols for both noninvasive techniques is necessary prior to widespread application in the region.

Camera traps have increased our knowledge of animal distribution, activity, and behavior, but they are rarely used for small mammal research. This is likely because there are few techniques to that allow for species identification, reduce disturbance of bait from non-target animals (e.g., raccoon [Procyon lotor]), and that can be used in all environments. In this paper we present a small mammal camera-trapping methodology, the Hunt trap, which was designed to 1) work in tidal environments, 2) eliminate capture myopathy, 3) allow for successful identification of small mammal species, and 4) allow for continued trapping after disturbance by non-target species. We tested the Hunt trap in the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, USA, during February 2012 to February 2013. Live traps are still the best option when individuals must be physically captured for marking, radiotagging, demographic studies, or physiological assessments. However, if such data are not required, the Hunt trap design is an excellent technique to monitor species diversity, community composition, habitat selection, and distribution with efficiency and minimal effort.

Live traps are commonly used to inventory, monitor, and sample populations of small mammals. Due to the variety of available trap types, understanding differences between traps is important to minimize bias and plan future studies. Sherman traps (H. B. Sherman Trap, Inc., Tallahassee, FL, USA; hereafter Sherman traps) are a popular live trap that come in a variety of sizes. However, studies comparing the relative efficacy of different-sized Sherman traps often focus on a single species or are limited by a lack of temporal and spatial replication, leading to contradictory or ambiguous results. Therefore, to better understand the relative efficacy of two commonly-used sizes, we used a paired design and 10 years of trapping data to compare species richness, capture numbers, and mortality rates between small Sherman traps (5.1 × 6.4 × 16.5 cm) and large Sherman traps (7.6 × 8.9 × 22.9 cm) across 55 preserves in northeastern Illinois. Despite wide annual variation, we captured more small mammals in large traps except for the smallest taxa (Sorex spp.), the proportion of captures in large traps increased with body size, and large traps significantly reduced mortality rates for Peromyscus spp., meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), and short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda). We recommend the 7.6 × 8.9 × 22.9 cm Sherman trap for monitoring surveys in the midwestern USA when research or monitoring objectives include maximizing captures and species richness while minimizing mortality. However, we note the smaller-sized trap may be useful to minimize bycatch when smaller species are being targeted. Finally, managers and biologists conducting short-term or pilot studies should be wary of year effects, as we found substantial annual variation in relative capture rates between trap sizes.

Hawai‘i’s native waterbirds are conservation reliant and need active management including predator control for the foreseeable future. The small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) is a detrimental predator to Hawai‘i’s native waterbirds: mongoose prey upon eggs, chicks, and adults. An effective trapping and baiting regime is fundamental in the control of this invasive predator. We examined whether DOC-200 kill traps or Tomahawk live traps are more effective in capturing mongoose. We also compared the cost efficiency of DOC-200 and Tomahawk traps. Throughout the study 114 animals were captured, of which 49 were mongoose (28 males, 14 females, 7 unknown sex). DOC-200 and Tomahawk traps did not differ in the number of mongoose captured. The trapping regime where DOC-200 traps were checked once a week proved to be most efficient ($40.70/mongoose), regimes where DOC-200 traps and Tomahawk traps were checked three times a week cost $65.20/mongoose and $102.80/mongoose, respectively. The results from our study give insight on trap preference, which can be used in other management areas that are impacted by mongoose in Hawai‘i, as well as providing cost effective trapping regimes for managers.

Despite considerable endeavours of scientists to avoid it, non-target species are frequently trapped for ecological and conservation research. Nevertheless, these data can provide valuable insights into how ecosystems function. Small mammals not targeted for epigeic fauna research were caught in pitfall traps over 20 years. At 186 sites between 2003 and 2023, 1,091 specimens of 21 species of insectivores and small rodents (Eulipotyphla, Rodentia) were caught in such traps. Our results show: (i) abundance of small mammals is affected by season, habitat, and elevation level; (ii) species richness of small mammals is affected by habitat and elevation levels and not by season. The efficiency of pitfall traps was compared with snap traps and live traps for sampling small mammals, where the results suggested significant differences in species richness only between pitfall and snap traps. The assemblage of small mammals found in pitfall traps was completely separated from that in live and snap traps. Capturing small mammals in pitfall traps is suitable for determining species richness for faunistic research in specific territories.

The contribution of small mammal ecology to the understanding of macroecological patterns of biodiversity, population dynamics, and community assembly has been hindered by the absence of large datasets of small mammal communities from tropical regions. Here we compile the largest dataset of inventories of small mammal communities for the Neotropical region. The dataset reviews small mammal communities from the Atlantic forest of South America, one of the regions with the highest diversity of small mammals and a global biodiversity hotspot, though currently covering less than 12% of its original area due to anthropogenic pressures. The dataset comprises 136 references from 300 locations covering seven vegetation types of tropical and subtropical Atlantic forests of South America, and presents data on species composition, richness, and relative abundance (captures/trap‐nights). One paper was published more than 70 yr ago, but 80% of them were published after 2000. The dataset comprises 53,518 individuals of 124 species of small mammals, including 30 species of marsupials and 94 species of rodents. Species richness averaged 8.2 species (1–21) per site. Only two species occurred in more than 50% of the sites (the common opossum, Didelphis aurita and black‐footed pigmy rice rat Oligoryzomys nigripes). Mean species abundance varied 430‐fold, from 4.3 to 0.01 individuals/trap‐night. The dataset also revealed a hyper‐dominance of 22 species that comprised 78.29% of all individuals captured, with only seven species representing 44% of all captures. The information contained on this dataset can be applied in the study of macroecological patterns of biodiversity, communities, and populations, but also to evaluate the ecological consequences of fragmentation and defaunation, and predict disease outbreaks, trophic interactions and community dynamics in this biodiversity hotspot.

Live-trapping is important for studying wildlife. In 2016 at Ordway-Swisher Biological Station in Melrose, Florida, USA, we tested the efficacy of a modified pitfall trap designed to safely and effectively capture southeastern pocket gophers (Geomys pinetis). When compared with the commonly used Hart trap, the new design captured 92% of all live captures of southeastern pocket gophers. The novel trap has a simple, passive design that eliminates dependence on trigger mechanisms, allows for safe overnight trapping, and reduces on-site hours by researchers. The new trap adds to the few live traps available to study ecologically important and understudied fossorial species.

Since 2016, coypu ( Myocastor coypus ) and raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) have been listed as invasive alien species (IAS) of European Union concern (The Implementing Regulation (EU) 1141/2016). The three-stage management plan stipulates the prevention of the further spread of species already established in Germany (Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council). Live trapping is a commonly used instrument to catch animals in hunting practice, but also in species conservation and pet protection. As part of a comprehensive study to improve animal welfare in live trapping, this paper focuses on a behavioral study with the aim of assessing the behavior of trapped animals in relation to stress. Video recordings were analyzed using a species adjusted ethogram and a quantitative observation method with focus on the animal in the trap over a maximum six-hour period. Blood and hair samples were taken for endocrinological examinations. The results showed large species-specific and individual differences in the expression of a wide range of behavior and coping strategies. As part of the stress assessment, it was concluded that external factors, among others the type of trap, have an influence on the behavior of coypu and raccoon. The raccoons showed different behaviors depending on the individual data. The endocrinological examinations of the stress parameters cortisol and dehydroepiandrosteron (DHEA) measured in serum and hair revealed differences between the species, indicating differing basal values. For coypu, the measurements indicated differences in serum and hair cortisol levels between juvenile and adult coypu. The study shows substantial indicators, such as the design of the trap type and the duration of capture, can be used to contribute to improve practices in live capture of (wild) animals.