Estimating jaguar density in the Pantanal using camera traps combined with GPS telemetry

Soisalo and Cavalcanti combined camera-trap capture-recapture with GPS radio-telemetry to refine jaguar density estimates in the Brazilian Pantanal, using telemetry-derived movement data to better define the effective sampling area than traditional buffer methods allowed. They argued that conventional approaches based on mean maximum distance moved could overestimate density by underestimating the area sampled, and that movement data from collared jaguars yield more realistic effective areas. The integration of telemetry and cameras anticipated later spatially explicit methods that model movement directly. The study highlighted how sampling-area assumptions strongly influence density figures and offered an empirical correction. It is a frequently cited reference in jaguar density research and in the methodological discussion of defining sampling areas for camera-trap estimates.