Karoo National Park

In 1979, the Karoo National Park (Karoo NP), currently 88,700 hectares in size, was proclaimed. Situated in the Western Cape province of South Africa, it aims to preserve a representative sample of the arid Nama Karoo biome. It is one of four National Parks, including Addo Elephant, Camdeboo and Mountain Zebra, that forms part of the Frontier cluster of the South African National Parks.

The Nuweveld mountain range forms the northern boundary of the Karoo NP, creating a distinctive topographical gradient within the reserve. This topographical gradient has led to a surprising amount of diversity in the reserve, with 58 mammals and over 200 bird species recorded, as well as a multitude of reptilian species. Conflicting land use is the greatest threat posed to the Karoo NP’s ability to conserve its fauna and flora.

Image attributions for photos not captured by Snapshot Safari camera traps

In response to the urgent need for more accurate assessment of mammal occupancy and populations we are launching a new research project called Snapshot Safari – South Africa. The aim of the Snapshot Safari – South Africa project is to provide extensive mammal occupancy and distribution data from conservation priority areas in South Africa as well as to develop and test survey methodology and conservation effectiveness assessments. This study will investigate how the structure and abundance of mammal communities, influenced by natural as well as anthropogenic processes, affects mammal species diversity and assemblages.

Snapshot Safari – South Africa represents an unprecedented network of camera trap grids in dozens of protected areas and protected area expansion areas in South Africa to provide continuous monitoring of population sizes and trends of all the larger (>10 kg) mammal species at each site. Some of the participating study areas are managed as conservancies and stewardship areas, some are privately owned, some are state-run, and others are under communal tenure. With the help of accurate camera trap censuses, and innovative mapping approaches we will identify which sites are being managed successfully - and hence which conservation strategies should be incorporated into a toolbox for effective wildlife management.

Snapshot Safari – South Africa will enable us to closely examine questions of species occupancy, species coexistence, competition, trophic interactions, the effect of change, and other ecological relationships across a variety of habitat types, community compositions, and management strategies. It will further provide a solid baseline for future monitoring of change as well as anthropogenic impacts. The results will contribute to the development and refinement of important methods to conserve species and ecosystems.

In addition to methods for calculating population size, camera traps also allow for a greater understanding of key demographic parameters. For example, using images of young animals, we gain information about breeding seasonality and duration, % females with young, and mortality of young. All of these are key parameters critical for both conservation management and conservation planning. Furthermore, the camera trap data are an important resource for understanding distribution and temporal occupancy for different mammal communities. Our data will document occupancy across seasons and years, allowing us to gain an understanding of seasonal occupancy.

The full data set that will be developed will be an important resource for future researchers and managers to study or gain information on environmental change, species dynamics, biodiversity patterns, species conservation status, conservation management, biodiversity planning and protected area monitoring.

Image attributions for species menu exemplars not collected from our camera traps can be accessed here.