Acoustic detection and occupancy models: A systematic review with insights for future monitoring programs

Abstract

Wildlife management requires monitoring to infer spatiotemporal changes in the distribution or abundance of species and communities of organisms. Technological advancements have increasingly facilitated monitoring species through new data collection methods. Such technological advancements include small-sized acoustic recording devices that can record a wide range of sound frequencies, making them especially suitable for analysis by statistical tools such as occupancy models. We reviewed 188 publications that used acoustic methods and occupancy modelling published between 2002 and 2024 to synthesise and discuss the past usage and potential of combining these two methodologies in research studies in ecology and conservation. We examined the published articles’ biogeographical focus, taxonomic group, study temporal design, and modelling choices. Additionally, we performed a text network analysis to understand the trends in the investigated topics of the articles. Our findings revealed that most studies were primarily implemented in the Nearctic region (61.7 %) and were concentrated on two taxonomic groups, birds and bats (42 % and 33 %, respectively). We found that nearly half of the studies limited their analysis to the simplest modelling solution, single-season and single-species models, even though many collected data for multiple species and sampled across several seasons. The text analysis revealed that the research primarily focuses on species monitoring and habitat use. Coupling low-cost passive acoustic monitoring with a diversified set of occupancy models is a scalable methodology that can help implement standardised protocols for regional and larger-scale monitoring programs, which are critical for animal conservation in an increasingly anthropogenic landscape.