RT Journal Article
T1 A poor international standard for trap selectivity threatens carnivore conservation
A1 Virgós, Emilio
A1 Lozano Mendoza, Jorge
A1 Cabezas-Díaz, Sara
A1 Macdonald, David W.
A1 Zalewski, Andrzej
A1 Atienza, Juan Carlos
A1 Proulx, Gilbert
A1 Ripple, William J.
A1 Rosalino, Luis M.
A1 Santos-Reis, Margarida
A1 Johnson, Paul J.
A1 Malo, Aurelio F.
A1 Baker, Sandra E.
AB Unintentional mortality of endangered carnivores due to non-selective trapping is important for conservation and warrants urgent attention. Currently, non-selective traps are being approved and used based on trap selectivity tests conducted according to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidelines. We review these guidelines and find them inadequate, because: (1) the ISO definition of selectivity does not account for relative abundance of target and non-target species and does not therefore meaningfully reflect selectivity; (2) the guidelines methodology at best quantifies relative selectivity of one trap against another, which is of limited use unless the control trap is known to have an acceptable level of absolute selectivity for the target species; (3) information on relative trap selectivity cannot simply be extrapolated elsewhere, unless species assemblage and relative species abundances are consistent. We demonstrate that the ISO definition of trap selectivity is only a simple capture proportion and therefore does not represent trap selectivity. ISO guidelines on trap selectivity should be reviewed to reflect particular ecological scenarios and we suggest how this might be done. Policy-makers, practitioners and researchers should interpret scientific results more cautiously. Trap approval decisions should be based on scientific evidence to avoid undermining the conservation of biodiversity.
PB Springer Nature
SN 0960-3115
YR 2016
FD 2016-05-02
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/128691
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/128691
LA eng
NO Virgós, E., Lozano, J., Cabezas-Díaz, S. et al. A poor international standard for trap selectivity threatens carnivore conservation. Biodivers Conserv 25, 1409–1419 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1117-7
NO Jorge Lozano was supported by a Prometeo Fellowship from the SENESCYT, a national agency for Education and Science of the Government of Ecuador. Sandra Baker was supported by a Fellowship from the Humane Society International UK, and the Baker Trust. DWM was supported by the Recanati-Kaplan Foundation, the Robertson Foundation and the Peoples’ Trust for Endangered Species. Luís M. Rosalino was supported by a fellowship from the “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” and “Fundo Social Europeu” (III Quadro Comunitário de Apoio) (SFRH/BPD/35842/2007). Paul Johnson acknowledges the support of the Whitley Trust. Aurelio F. Malo was partly supported by an ERC Grant (249872).
NO Fundación para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (Ecuador)
NO Humane Society International UK
NO Elinor Patterson Baker Foundation
NO Recanati-Kaplan Foundation
NO The Robertson Foundation
NO People's Trust for Endangered Species
NO Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal)
NO European Commission
NO Whitley Fund for Nature
DS Docta Complutense
RD 20 ene 2026