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A poor international standard for trap selectivity threatens carnivore conservation

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Abstract

Unintentional mortality of endangered carnivores due to non-selective trapping is important for conservation and warrants urgent attention. Currently, non-selective traps are being approved and used based on trap selectivity tests conducted according to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidelines. We review these guidelines and find them inadequate, because: (1) the ISO definition of selectivity does not account for relative abundance of target and non-target species and does not therefore meaningfully reflect selectivity; (2) the guidelines methodology at best quantifies relative selectivity of one trap against another, which is of limited use unless the control trap is known to have an acceptable level of absolute selectivity for the target species; (3) information on relative trap selectivity cannot simply be extrapolated elsewhere, unless species assemblage and relative species abundances are consistent. We demonstrate that the ISO definition of trap selectivity is only a simple capture proportion and therefore does not represent trap selectivity. ISO guidelines on trap selectivity should be reviewed to reflect particular ecological scenarios and we suggest how this might be done. Policy-makers, practitioners and researchers should interpret scientific results more cautiously. Trap approval decisions should be based on scientific evidence to avoid undermining the conservation of biodiversity.

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Acknowledgments

Jorge Lozano was supported by a Prometeo Fellowship from the SENESCYT, a national agency for Education and Science of the Government of Ecuador. Sandra Baker was supported by a Fellowship from the Humane Society International UK, and the Baker Trust. DWM was supported by the Recanati-Kaplan Foundation, the Robertson Foundation and the Peoples’ Trust for Endangered Species. Luís M. Rosalino was supported by a fellowship from the “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” and “Fundo Social Europeu” (III Quadro Comunitário de Apoio) (SFRH/BPD/35842/2007). Paul Johnson acknowledges the support of the Whitley Trust. Aurelio F. Malo was partly supported by an ERC Grant (249872).

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Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. ESCET, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n., 28933, Móstoles, Spain

      Emilio Virgós & Jorge Lozano

    2. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, Sección de Biología Básica y Aplicada, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto C/París s/n, 1101608, Loja, Ecuador

      Jorge Lozano

    3. Área de Conservación de Especies y Espacios, SEO/BirdLife, C/Melquíades Biencinto 34, 28053, Madrid, Spain

      Sara Cabezas-Díaz & Juan Carlos Atienza

    4. Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon, OX13 5QL, UK

      David W. Macdonald, Paul J. Johnson & Sandra E. Baker

    5. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 17-230, Białowieża, Poland

      Andrzej Zalewski

    6. Alpha Wildlife Research & Management Ltd., 229 Lilac Terrace, Sherwood Park, AB, T8H 1W3, Canada

      Gilbert Proulx

    7. Trophic Cascades Program, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

      William J. Ripple

    8. Faculdade de Ciências, CE3C- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal

      Luis M. Rosalino & Margarida Santos-Reis

    9. CESAM & Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

      Luis M. Rosalino

    10. Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK

      Aurelio F. Malo

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    1. Emilio Virgós
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    2. Jorge Lozano
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    3. Sara Cabezas-Díaz
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    4. David W. Macdonald
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    6. Juan Carlos Atienza
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    7. Gilbert Proulx
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    10. Margarida Santos-Reis
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    11. Paul J. Johnson
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    12. Aurelio F. Malo
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    13. Sandra E. Baker
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    Corresponding author

    Correspondence to Emilio Virgós.

    Additional information

    Communicated by Melvin Gumal.

    Emilio Virgós and Jorge Lozano authors have contributed equally.

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    Virgós, E., Lozano, J., Cabezas-Díaz, S. et al. A poor international standard for trap selectivity threatens carnivore conservation. Biodivers Conserv 25, 1409–1419 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1117-7

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1117-7

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