Two UBC Okanagan biologists, who have publicly solicited images of wild cats for their research, say telling the difference between a bobcat or a lynx can be difficult.
Two UBC Okanagan biologists, who have publicly solicited images of wild cats for their research, say telling the difference between a bobcat or a lynx can be difficult.
Biology Professor Karen Hodges and master’s student TJ Gooliaff collected and compared wildlife images for several years as part of their research tracking bobcat and lynx distributions in British Columbia. Camera trapping and solicitation of wildlife pictures through citizen science have become common tools in ecological research, explains Gooliaff.
While it’s generally easy to collect many images of animals, some species are difficult to tell apart, making species classification challenging.
“Camera-trapping and citizen-science studies collect many wildlife images for which correct species classification is crucial,” says Gooliaff. “Even low misclassification rates can result in erroneous estimation of the geographic range or habitat use of a species—including underestimation of the occupancy, habitat preferences or distribution of a species. This potentially hinders conservation and management efforts.”
Read more at University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus
Photo credit: skeeze via Pixabay
