Panama Canal Islands

Study Description:

This 2010 study in Barro Colorado Nature Monument (BCNM) Panama sought to determine the community and abundance of mammals within different sized occupying islands and insulated peninsulas in the Panama Canal.

Study Design:

21 grids of 10 Reconyx RC55 camera traps each were placed in 12 forest fragments that ranged in size from 2.6 to 2811 ha. The fragments were islands and insulated peninsulas of the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, located in the Gatun Lake section of the Panama Canal, Panama. The goal was to assess how the community composition and abundance of terrestrial mammals varied with the size of the forest fragment. 1707 camera nights were recorded from January 6th to April 1st 2010.

Cameras were spaced a minimum of 10m apart. Sites were selected based on presence of stems and view. No bait was used.