PubMed · 2026-07-01
Scientists deployed cameras at ground, mid-forest, and canopy levels across the Congo Basin and found that studying only the forest floor misses key patterns in how mammals use their habitat. Even small elevation changes shaped which species lived where, but this only became clear when all three vertical layers were analyzed together.
Camera traps deployed at three strata (canopy, understory-midstory, ground) revealed a significant positive effect of elevation on mammal occupancy that was invisible when only ground-level data were used.
A multispecies, multi-scale occupancy model showed that vertical sampling fundamentally altered inferred relationships between mammal communities and environmental gradients.
Even small elevation gradients in lowland tropical forests shaped mammal diversity, likely through soil-mediated effects on habitat structure and resource availability.