Knowledge of abundance, or population size, is fundamental in wildlife conservation and management. Camera-trapping, in combination with capture-recapture methods, has been extensively applied to estimate abundance and density of individually identifiable animals due to the advantages of being non-invasive, effective to survey wide-ranging, elusive, or nocturnal species, operating in inhospitable environment, and taking low labor. We assessed the possibility of using coat patterns from images to identify an individual leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), a Class II endangered species in South Korea. We analyzed leopard cat images taken from Digital Single-Lense Relfex camera (high resolution, 18Mpxl) and camera traps (low resolution, 3.1Mpxl) using HotSpotter, an image matching algorithm. HotSpotter accurately top-ranked an image of the same individual leopard cat with the reference leopard cat image 100% by matching facial and ventral parts. This confirms that facial and ventral fur patterns of the Amur leopard cat are good matching points to be used reliably to identify an individual. We anticipate that the study results will be useful to researchers interested in studying behavior or population parameter estimates of Amur leopard cats based on capture-recapture models.

Hee-Bok Park and Anya Lim*. J Ecol Environ 2023;47:. https://doi.org/10.5141/jee.23.066

Areum Kim, Donggul Woo, Je Min Lee, Jinhwi Kim and Anya Lim*. J Ecol Environ 2023;47:. https://doi.org/10.5141/jee.23.065

Diet is a key factor modulating the trade-off between fecundity and longevity, a cornerstone of life-history theory. While laboratory studies have demonstrated that high-protein-to-carbohydrate (P:C) ratio diets increase reproductive output at the cost of lifespan, it remains unclear how this trade-off operates in species exposed to natural dietary variability and prey choice. We tested whether diet-mediated trade-offs between fecundity and longevity are modulated by prey-insect type in the endangered tiger beetle, Cicindela anchoralis, a species with a short adult lifespan. Tiger beetles were offered a choice between a high-P:C diet (cricket) and low-P:C diet (ant). Tiger beetles consuming the high-P:C diet exhibited increased fecundity and reduced longevity, while those feeding on the low-P:C diet showed the opposite pattern. Despite these consequences, both sexes showed a consistent preference for the high-P:C diet, suggesting that beetles prioritize reproductive output over lifespan. These results suggest that prey-insect selection might be an adaptive way to boost reproductive success within a limited adult lifespan, which may raise tiger beetles’ intrinsic rate of natural increase. Our findings highlight the ecological relevance of diet-driven life-history trade-offs and offer practical guidance for mass propagation strategies to support endangered tiger beetle recovery.

Understanding how ecologically similar species share space and time is central to community ecology and can provide information for conservation and management in multi-species systems. Camera-trap data provide a practical means of describing spatial co-occurrence and diel activity overlap amongst sympatric mammals, particularly where direct mechanistic inference is not possible from observational data alone. In human-dominated landscapes, standardised, open-access occurrence data are critical for balancing the conservation of endangered species with the management of over-abundant, conflict-prone wildlife. In this study, we present a curated, year-long camera-trap dataset for four sympatric ungulates in South Korea, based on monitoring conducted in a temperate forest landscape in Uljin County, together with station-level covariates and harmonised effort information derived from a camera operation log. We provide example analyses illustrating: (i) spatial occurrence patterns using species-wise occupancy models and (ii) diel activity and temporal overlap using non-parametric activity analyses. For the temporal example, overlap is summarised using local clock time (Asia/Seoul, UTC+09:00) and complemented by a photoperiod-adjusted (solar-time) sensitivity analysis, based on sunrise and sunset times calculated for site-level representative coordinates (one point per site; UJ1 and UJ2). Diel-period summaries are additionally reported as rate-normalised detections (detections per 100 hours) using civil-twilight definitions to account for unequal period durations. The released dataset contains 4,623 independent detection events for the four ungulate species (long-tailed goral: 2,317; water deer: 814; Siberian roe deer: 808; wild boar: 684) recorded at 82 camera stations between April 2022 and May 2023. Survey effort totalled 29,850 functional camera-trap nights (30,410 scheduled nights, including 560 inactive nights from recorded downtime). All released files are listed in the Data resources section and include event-level records, station-level covariates, generalised coordinates and effort summaries to support reproducible reuse.

We present the first documented evidence of interactions between the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus) and the invasive coypu (Myocastor coypus) in South Korea, captured through camera traps in Hwapocheon wetland park from May 2015 to April 2017. Two interactions were recorded: one showing a leopard cat carrying a carcass of sub‐adult coypu and the other a 4‐min sequence of predation and defense between two species. The observed interactions indicate active predatory behavior by the leopard cat against coypus and cooperative defense by coypus. These findings shed new light on predator–prey dynamics, highlighting the leopard cat's potential role as a predator of coypus and coypus' defensive abilities. Understanding these relationships could facilitate more effective management of invasive species and offer broader implications for ecosystem dynamics and conservation strategies.