Community Monitoring: Promoting Conservation in Candelaria, Campeche, Mexico

Objective: Involve agricultural producers in the implementation of a community wildlife monitoring system to generate citizen science. Design/methodology/approach: Training was provided to community monitors in bird observation and identification, as well as in the use of camera traps. Photo-trapping stations were placed adjacent to milpas to identify the fauna that visit these production systems. Results: Eight local people were trained as community monitors. With 811 trap-nights, a total of 32 species were identified, 8 of which are in some state of protection. The species with the most records are considered generalists. Most of the species recorded are nocturnal or crepuscular. The records indicate the effectiveness of the photo-trapping method for detecting species in milpas. Study limitations/implications: The communities in which the study was carried out are in remote areas where there is no electricity network, and are considered irregular in terms of land ownership, which creates distrust among the people and a certain apathy. Findings/conclusions: Community monitoring and citizen science supported by the photo-trapping method proved to be functional in several ways; the involvement of local people in remote communities in Candelaria, Campeche, was achieved. Species that feed on the milpa were identified.