Standardizing protocols for determining the cause of mortality in wildlife studies
Bogdan Cristescu, Mark Elbroch, Tavis Forrester, Maximilian Allen, Derek Spitz, Christopher Wilmers & Heiko Wittmer
Mortality site investigations of telemetered wildlife are important for cause-specific survival analyses and understanding underlying causes of observed population dynamics. Yet eroding ecoliteracy and a lack of quality control in data collection can lead researchers to make incorrect conclusions, which may negatively impact management decisions for wildlife populations. We reviewed a random sample of 50 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2019 on survival and cause-specific mortality of ungulates monitored with telemetry devices. This concise...