title: Estimating the population density of the Asian tapir (Tapirus indicus) in a selectively logged forest in Peninsular Malaysia.
abstract: The endangered Asian tapir (Tapirus indicus) is threatened by large-scale habitat loss, forest fragmentation and increased hunting pressure. Conservation planning for this species, however, is hampered by a severe paucity of information on its ecology and population status. We present the first Asian tapir population density estimate from a camera trapping study targeting tigers in a selectively logged forest within Peninsular Malaysia using a spatially explicit capture-recapture maximum likelihood based framework. With a trap effort of 2496 nights, 17 individuals were identified corresponding to a density (standard error) estimate of 9.49 (2.55) adult tapirs/100 km(2) . Although our results include several caveats, we believe that our density estimate still serves as an important baseline to facilitate the monitoring of tapir population trends in Peninsular Malaysia. Our study also highlights the potential of extracting vital ecological and population information for other cryptic individually identifiable animals from tiger-centric studies, especially with the use of a spatially explicit capture-recapture maximum likelihood based framework.
authors.affiliation: WWF Malaysia, Selangor, MalaysiaDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury, UKSchool of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UKSchool of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, AustraliaCenter for Malaysian Indigenous Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCopenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: D Mark
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Rayan
authors.affiliation: WWF Malaysia, Selangor, MalaysiaDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury, UKSchool of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UKSchool of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, AustraliaCenter for Malaysian Indigenous Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCopenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Shariff Wan
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Mohamad
authors.affiliation: WWF Malaysia, Selangor, MalaysiaDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury, UKSchool of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UKSchool of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, AustraliaCenter for Malaysian Indigenous Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCopenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Leejiah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dorward
authors.affiliation: WWF Malaysia, Selangor, MalaysiaDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury, UKSchool of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UKSchool of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, AustraliaCenter for Malaysian Indigenous Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCopenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Sheema Abdul
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Aziz
authors.affiliation: WWF Malaysia, Selangor, MalaysiaDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury, UKSchool of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UKSchool of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, AustraliaCenter for Malaysian Indigenous Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCopenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Gopalasamy Reuben
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Clements
authors.affiliation: WWF Malaysia, Selangor, MalaysiaDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury, UKSchool of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UKSchool of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, AustraliaCenter for Malaysian Indigenous Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCopenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Wong Chai Thiam
authors.initials: WCT
authors.lastname: Christopher
authors.affiliation: WWF Malaysia, Selangor, MalaysiaDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury, UKSchool of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UKSchool of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, AustraliaCenter for Malaysian Indigenous Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCopenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Traeholt
authors.affiliation: WWF Malaysia, Selangor, MalaysiaDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury, UKSchool of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UKSchool of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, AustraliaCenter for Malaysian Indigenous Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCopenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Magintan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D017753:Ecosystem; D056727:Endangered Species; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008296:Malaysia; D010527:Perissodactyla / Q000502:physiology*; D010781:Photography; D011156:Population Density; D014197:Trees