naa a22 4500 51074513X CHVBK 20180411083043.0 cr unu---uuuuu 180411e20130401xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s13364-012-0116-7 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s13364-012-0116-7 Is the standard Eurasian otter Lutra lutra survey strategy suitable for surveying the American mink Neovison vison ? [Elektronische Daten] [Y. Melero, S. Palazón, J. Gosàlbez, J. Martelo, L. Bonesi] The American mink Neovison vison is an elusive mustelid that is monitored mostly through the detection of its field signs, namely, footprints and scats. In Europe, the American mink has been often monitored using the standard otter survey strategy developed specifically for the Eurasian otter Lutra lutra, requiring to walk transects of 600m spaced at least 5km apart. We tested whether the standard otter survey strategy was appropriate for surveying mink. We studied a high-density population of mink along a 9-km stretch of river between December 2004 and April 2005. Monthly surveys were conducted and scats and footprints were recorded within 100-m sections along the river. The results showed a monthly variation in signs recovery, with the months of December, January and February being the best ones for surveying. Transects of 600m detected mink between 74 and 90% of the times in all months, excluding March when detection was as low as 56%. Taken all together, the results suggest that the standard otter survey strategy was adequate to detect mink, at least in this case where species density was high. The study also highlighted monthly differences in signs detection, suggesting that temporal variations should be taken into account when designing the sampling strategy and the length of the sampling units (transects). In the months immediately following the mating season (and possibly in lower-density mink populations), it may be advisable to increase the length of transects to increase detection of mink. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Białowieża, Poland, 2012 Lutra lutra nationallicence Monitoring nationallicence Neovison vison nationallicence Surveys nationallicence Melero Y. Department of Animal Biology (Vertebrates), University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain aut Palazón S. Department of Animal Biology (Vertebrates), University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain aut Gosàlbez J. Department of Animal Biology (Vertebrates), University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain aut Martelo J. Centre for Environmental Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal aut Bonesi L. Department of Biology, University of Trieste, Via Weiss 2, 34127, Trieste, Italy aut Acta Theriologica Springer-Verlag 58/2(2013-04-01), 169-177 0001-7051 58:2<169 2013 58 13364 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-012-0116-7 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-012-0116-7 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Melero Y. Department of Animal Biology (Vertebrates), University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Palazón S. Department of Animal Biology (Vertebrates), University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Gosàlbez J. Department of Animal Biology (Vertebrates), University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Martelo J. Centre for Environmental Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Bonesi L. Department of Biology, University of Trieste, Via Weiss 2, 34127, Trieste, Italy aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Acta Theriologica Springer-Verlag 58/2(2013-04-01), 169-177 0001-7051 58:2<169 2013 58 13364 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer