Insights into vertebrate diversity of Qatar from first systematic camera trapping

Biodiversity in arid regions is typically low, with limited functional redundancy, making ecosystems vulnerable to species loss. In the Arabian Peninsula, particularly in Qatar, terrestrial biodiversity data remain scarce, hampering conservation and restoration efforts. To address this gap, we conducted extensive camera trapping from 2022 to 2025, across four sites to document terrestrial vertebrate occurrence, with an emphasis on mammals. A total of 85 camera traps were installed at various locations, remaining active in the field for over 9,000 days and capturing more than 25,000 photos of wild animals, including eight mammals, 25 birds, and four reptile species. We recorded several species of global conservation concern such as the sand cat ( Felis margarita ), Arabian sand gazelle ( Gazella marica ), Asian houbara ( Chlamydotis macqueenii ), European turtle dove ( Streptopelia turtur ), and Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard ( Uromastyx aegyptia ). Notably, the five-striped palm squirrel ( Funambulus pennantii ), an introduced species, was documented for the first time in Qatar. While camera trapping proved effective for cryptic and nocturnal species, it underrepresented small mammals and reptiles, and bird identification was limited by image quality. Despite these constraints, the study updates Qatar’s terrestrial vertebrate inventory and emphasizes the importance of expanding and integrating methods such as eDNA with camera trapping to establish a comprehensive biodiversity baseline. Domestic dogs and cats were photo-captured at different camera stations, which could be a serious threat to native wildlife. Therefore, immediate management interventions are required to control and, if necessary, remove these, particularly from protected areas.