Life in the Canopy: Using Camera-Traps to Inventory Arboreal Rainforest Mammals in Borneo

Arboreal mammals form a diverse group providing ecologically important functions such as predation, pollination and seed dispersal. However, their cryptic elusive nature, the heights at which they live, makes studying these species challenging. Consequently, our knowledge of rainforest is heavily biased towards terrestrial species, limiting understanding overall community structure possible impacts human-induced disturbance. We undertook first in-depth appraisal an arboreal mammal in Southeast Asia, using camera-traps set unlogged logged tropical Sabah, Borneo. Using paired canopy 50 locations (25 forest, 25 logged), we assessed effectiveness camera-trapping characterising versus community, tested influence strata forest type on composition. The design detected 55 across 15,817 camera-trap nights (CTNs), additional sampling subset trees added further two to inventory. In total, thirty were exclusively by camera-traps, eighteen nine units both heights, demonstrating significant differences between communities. This pattern was strongest reflecting greater structural diversity this habitat, but held well. Species accumulation curves revealed that significantly boosted inventories compared terrestrial-only sampling, particularly effective detecting gliding mammals, rodents primates. Canopy took longer reach asymptote, suggesting effort required when deploying those ground. demonstrate Borneo’s distinct can be sampled effectively camera-traps. costs incurred substantial. provide recommendations maximise effectiveness, while bringing down costs, help encourage study into one last frontiers research.