Skip to main content
Wiley - PMC COVID-19 Collection logoLink to Wiley - PMC COVID-19 Collection
. 2022 Jul 24;103(10):e3775. doi: 10.1002/ecy.3775

SNAPSHOT USA 2020: A second coordinated national camera trap survey of the United States during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Roland Kays 1,2,, Michael V Cove 2, Jose Diaz 3, Kimberly Todd 3, Claire Bresnan 3, Matt Snider 1, Thomas E Lee Jr 4, Jonathan G Jasper 4, Brianna Douglas 4, Anthony P Crupi 5, Katherine C B Weiss 6,7, Helen Rowe 8, Tiffany Sprague 8, Jan Schipper 7, Christopher A Lepczyk 9, Jean E Fantle‐Lepczyk 9, Jon Davenport 10, Marketa Zimova 10, Zach Farris 11, Jacque Williamson 12, M Caitlin Fisher‐Reid 13, Drew Rezendes 13, Sean M King 13, Petros Chrysafis 14, Alex J Jensen 15, David S Jachowski 15, Katherine C King 16, Daniel J Herrera 17, Sophie Moore 17, Marius van der Merwe 18, Jason V Lombardi 19, Maksim Sergeyev 19, Michael E Tewes 19, Robert V Horan III 20, Michael S Rentz 21, Ace Driver 21, La Roy S E Brandt 22, Christopher Nagy 23, Peter Alexander 24, Sean P Maher 25, Andrea K Darracq 26, Evan G Barr 26, George Hess 3, Stephen L Webb 27, Mike D Proctor 27, John P Vanek 28, Diana J R Lafferty 29, Tru Hubbard 29, Jaime E Jiménez 30, Craig McCain 30, Jorie Favreau 31, Jack Fogarty 31, Jacob Hill 32, Steven Hammerich 33, Morgan Gray 33, Christine C Rega‐Brodsky 34, Caleb Durbin 34, Elizabeth A Flaherty 35, Jarred Brooke 35, Stephanie S Coster 36, Richard G Lathrop 37, Katarina Russell 37, Daniel A Bogan 38, Hila Shamon 39, Brigit Rooney 40, Aimee Rockhill 41, Robert C Lonsinger 42, M Teague O'Mara 43, Justin A Compton 44, Erika L Barthelmess 45, Katherine E Andy 45, Jerrold L Belant 46, Tyler Petroelje 46, Nathaniel H Wehr 46, Dean E Beyer Jr 47, Daniel G Scognamillo 48, Chris Schalk 48, Kara Day 49, Caroline N Ellison 50, Chip Ruthven 50, Blaine Nunley 50, Sarah Fritts 51, Christopher A Whittier 52, Sean A Neiswenter 53, Robert Pelletier 53, Brett A DeGregorio 54, Erin K Kuprewicz 55, Miranda L Davis 55, Carolina Baruzzi 56, Marcus A Lashley 57, Brandon McDonald 16,57, David Mason 57, Derek R Risch 58, Maximilian L Allen 59,60, Laura S Whipple 60, Jinelle H Sperry 60,61, Emmarie Alexander 60, Patrick J Wolff 61, Robert H Hagen 62, Alessio Mortelliti 63, Amay Bolinjcar 63, Andrew M Wilson 64, Scott Van Norman 65, Cailey Powell 65, Henry Coletto 66, Martha Schauss 66, Helen Bontrager 67, James Beasley 67, Susan N Ellis‐Felege 68, Samuel R Wehr 69, Sean T Giery 70, Charles E Pekins 71, Summer H LaRose 72, Ronald S Revord 72, Christopher P Hansen 73, Lonnie Hansen 73, Joshua J Millspaugh 73, Adam Zorn 74, Brian D Gerber 75, Kylie Rezendes 75, Jessie Adley 75, Jennifer Sevin 76, Austin M Green 77, Çağan H Şekercioğlu 77,78, Mary E Pendergast 79, Kayleigh Mullen 80, Tori Bird 80, Andrew J Edelman 81, Andrea Romero 82, Brian J O'Neill 83, Noel Schmitz 83, Rebecca A Vandermus 82, Jesse M Alston 84, Kellie M Kuhn 85, Steven C Hasstedt 85, Damon B Lesmeister 86, Cara L Appel 87, Christopher Rota 88, Jennifer L Stenglein 89, Christine Anhalt‐Depies 89, Carrie L Nelson 90, Robert A Long 91, Kathryn R Remine 91, Mark J Jordan 92, L Mark Elbroch 93, Dylan Bergman 94, Sara Cendejas‐Zarelli 95, Kim Sager‐Fradkin 95, Mike Conner 96, Gail Morris 96, Elizabeth Parsons 96, Haydée Hernández‐Yáñez 3, William J McShea 3
PMCID: PMC9347782  PMID: 35661139

Abstract

Managing wildlife populations in the face of global change requires regular data on the abundance and distribution of wild animals, but acquiring these over appropriate spatial scales in a sustainable way has proven challenging. Here we present the data from Snapshot USA 2020, a second annual national mammal survey of the USA. This project involved 152 scientists setting camera traps in a standardized protocol at 1485 locations across 103 arrays in 43 states for a total of 52,710 trap‐nights of survey effort. Most (58) of these arrays were also sampled during the same months (September and October) in 2019, providing a direct comparison of animal populations in 2 years that includes data from both during and before the COVID‐19 pandemic. All data were managed by the eMammal system, with all species identifications checked by at least two reviewers. In total, we recorded 117,415 detections of 78 species of wild mammals, 9236 detections of at least 43 species of birds, 15,851 detections of six domestic animals and 23,825 detections of humans or their vehicles. Spatial differences across arrays explained more variation in the relative abundance than temporal variation across years for all 38 species modeled, although there are examples of significant site‐level differences among years for many species. Temporal results show how species allocate their time and can be used to study species interactions, including between humans and wildlife. These data provide a snapshot of the mammal community of the USA for 2020 and will be useful for exploring the drivers of spatial and temporal changes in relative abundance and distribution, and the impacts of species interactions on daily activity patterns. There are no copyright restrictions, and please cite this paper when using these data, or a subset of these data, for publication.

Keywords: biodiversity, biogeography, camera traps, Carnivora, Cetartiodactyla, Didelphimorphia, Lagomorpha, mammals, occupancy modeling, species distribution modeling

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Supporting information

Data S1

Kays, Roland , Cove Michael V., Diaz Jose, Todd Kimberly, Bresnan Claire, Snider Matt, Lee Thomas E. Jr, et al. 2022. “ SNAPSHOT USA 2020: A Second Coordinated National Camera Trap Survey of the United States during the COVID‐19 Pandemic.” Ecology 103(10): e3775. 10.1002/ecy.3775

Handling Editor: William K. Michener

Funding information American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Humane Society of the United States, Winn Feline Foundation, Maddie's Fund; Aurora Country Club; Iowa; Isabel Lepczyk, Kreher Preserve, and Nature Center; AK; Maine Department of Inland Fisheries; Mcnair's Scholars Program; Murray State University; National Science Foundation; Ordway‐Swisher Biological Station; Pepperwood Foundation; Scout Island Educational Center; Smithsonian Institution; The Delaware Zoological Society, Parks, DE State, Brandywine Zoo; U.S. Department of Agriculture; U.S. Department of Energy, Grant/Award Number: DE‐EM0004391; University of Kansas Field Station, KU Environmental Studies Program; Wildlife, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit; MD

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The complete data set is available as Supporting Information (Data S1). Associated data are also available at the Smithsonian's eMammal data repository https://emammal.si.edu/analysis/data-download by choosing North America in the map and then selecting the project: Snapshot USA – 2020.

Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

Data S1

Data Availability Statement

The complete data set is available as Supporting Information (Data S1). Associated data are also available at the Smithsonian's eMammal data repository https://emammal.si.edu/analysis/data-download by choosing North America in the map and then selecting the project: Snapshot USA – 2020.


Articles from Ecology are provided here courtesy of Wiley

RESOURCES