INNOVATIONS - A Simple Approach to Collecting Useful Wildlife Data Using Remote Camera Traps in Undergraduate Biology Courses

Oct 15, 2026

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Remote camera-traps support inexpensive, nonintrusive wildlife assessment, helping quantify abundance, diversity, behavior, and habitat use. As remote-camera use grows, undergraduate biology students should learn their application early, yet many course-based labs produce data without links to real population inference. This article presents a three-lab, inquiry-based exercise using remote cameras to estimate mammal relative abundance, diel activity over 24 hours, and diversity in a biological corridor.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

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Pages7

Reading Time18 min

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INTRODUCTION

Need for inquiry-based, course-feasible study designs

Remote-Camera Applications

INNOVATIONS A Simple Approach to Collecting Useful Wildlife Data Using Remote Camera Traps in Undergraduate Biology Courses David R Christensen* Biology Department, Westfield State University, Westfield, MA 01086 *Corresponding Author: [dchristensen@westfield.ma.edu](dchristensen@westfield.ma.edu) Abstract: Remote camera-traps are commonly used to estimate the abundance, diversity, behavior and habitat use of wildlife in an inexpensive and nonintrusive manner. Because of the increasing use of remote-cameras in wildlife studies, students interested in wildlife biology should be exposed to the use of remote-cameras early in their academic careers. Although there is a rich literature on the use of remote-cameras in wildlife studies, few have provided meaningful examples within an academic course setting. Due to the time constraint of a typical semester, many laboratory exercises generate data sufficient for the activity but lack inference to actual wildlife populations. This article describes a series of laboratory exercises that are both useful to student learning and provide relevant biological data. Students use remote-cameras to measure diversity, diel behavior (i.e. over a 24-hour period) and the relative abundance of mammals in a biological corridor. Other abundance methods such as mark-recapture or random encounter models that require marked individuals and/or extensive temporal and spatial methodology are often not practical in a course framework. The approach described in this article teaches students about research design and local wildlife abundance and behavior, using simple methodologies employed over a three-lab period. Keywords: Remote camera-traps, wildlife, inquiry-based, biological corridor, undergraduate students. INTRODUCTION Inquiry-based laboratory exercises can encourage the scientific process and help instill a sense of scientific discovery within students (National Science Foundation, 1996, National Research Council, 2000) . Laboratory experiences that further provide students with real-world skills together with an inquiry-based approach would better prepare students for successful careers in the sciences (Millenbah and Millspaugh, 2003) . Remote camera traps are becoming a common way to assess wildlife populations (O’Brien et al., 2003, Yasuda, 2004, Swan and Perkins, 2014) . The popularity of remote-cameras is largely due to their cost-effectiveness and passive, non-intrusive capability to monitor wildlife. Because of the increasing use of remote-cameras in wildlife management and conservation biology, students interested in these disciplines should be exposed to the use of remote-cameras early in their academic careers. Although remote camera studies abound in the literature (O’Brien et al., 2003, Yasuda, 2004, Janecka et al., 2011, Anile et al., 2014), few examples of simple, yet relevant exercises have been provided within an academic course framework (Locke et al., 2005, Grigione and Farkas, 2012) . Often, exercises designed for students provide basic training on the use of remote-cameras that only generate sufficient data for the learning experience. These types of studies, although useful in educating students on the basic use of remote-cameras, lack a study design that would generate relevant data that could be inferred to actual wildlife populations, such as abundance estimates, temporal habitat usage and diversity over temporal and spatial scales. Some effective metrics that are often applied in large research studies such as mark-recapture or random encounter modeling require marked individuals and/or extensive spatial and temporal sampling (Royle and Nichols, 2003, Sollman et al., 2013) . Although these methods generate the most reliable camera-based wildlife population data (Royle and Nichols, 2003, Sollman et al. , 2013), the time, space and effort required might not be feasible in a typical semester and in a typical undergraduate course, assuming other topics and lab

FAQs

Why are remote camera-traps useful in wildlife biology courses?

They are cost-effective and passive, providing a nonintrusive way to collect data on abundance, diversity, behavior, and habitat use that fits undergraduate settings.

What limitations of traditional lab exercises does the article address?

Many semester labs generate sufficient learning data but lack the study design needed to infer meaningful information about real wildlife populations.

What does the proposed three-lab exercise have students measure?

Students deploy remote cameras in a biological corridor and use a relative abundance index to assess mammal relative abundance, local diversity, and diel behavior across a 24-hour period.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Ben