Comparing Characteristics of Japanese Rock Ptarmigan Monitoring Operations by Researchers and Citizen-based Monitoring Tours

Abstract

This study aims to clarify the characteristics of rock ptarmigan surveys conducted by citizen-based groups with those by professional researchers focusing on sensitivity, area coverage and terrain. We found daily area coverage (ha/day) or sloped area coverage in expert surveys cannot be met by citizen surveys, while hourly ptarmigan observations and area coverage were comparable in both survey types. Individual detection probability and sensitivity to detect change in proportion of unmarked individuals in citizen-based surveys were likewise comparable to those in expert surveys. We concluded that while citizen-based surveys cannot complement expert surveys’ coverage area, it showed potential to augment expert surveys’ frequency.