WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
Conventional ground camera traps are literally missing part of the forest community. Vertical camera arrays from the forest floor to canopy in Lomami National Park detected 47 mammal taxa; ground cameras captured most diversity but missed many arboreal species, and adding vertical strata changed inferred relationships between mammal occupancy and elevation. Eight taxa were recorded outside previously documented ranges.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
A survey can miss ecological structure by looking at the wrong height. Monitoring design determines which community becomes visible to managers.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
Camera detections depend on placement, effort and species detectability. A camera-trap inventory does not measure the entire forest community.
SOURCE
Journal of Mammalogy · original study
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Florida Atlantic University · research summary
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