USE OF PROBABILITY OF DETECTION WHEN CONDUCTING ANALYSES OF SURVEYS OF MESOPREDATORS: A CASE STUDY FROM THE OZARK HIGHLANDS OF MISSOURI

摘要

We surveyed 14 communities of mesopredators in the Ozark Highlands of southern Missouri to examine the effect of landscape and surveying efforts on probability of detection of raccoons (Procyon lotor) and Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana). Virginia opossums had a higher probability of detection than raccoons. Mean size of forested patches had a negative effect on probability of detection, suggesting that the hypothesis that abundance of mesopredators increases in small patches of forest is an artifact of sampling. We suggest that it is important for researchers to include probability of detection when analyzing data from surveys of mesopredators.