Too much hot air? Informing ethical trapping in hot, dry environments

Abstract

Context Trapping of small vertebrates during their active hot summer periods is vital for conservation and impact assessment studies. Animal Ethics Committees (AECs) protect wildlife by enforcing arbitrary but restrictive temperature limits for trapping. Aims Empirical data were gathered on the temperatures reached in different trap configurations to inform pragmatic ethical guidelines. Methods Temperature was measured inside small vertebrate traps at two Australian arid zone sites to generate data on the thermal consequences of: (1) trap design and external shading (2) provision of protective refuge substrates and (3) timing of trap clearing. Key results Shading and increased trap depth sig..