Fig 1.
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses extension for scoping review (PRISMA-ScR) flowchart illustrating the search strategy and screening process for articles published between 1990 and 2023. The search criteria identified 2,587 articles, which were then refined as per the process described in the flowchart to produce 145 English language full-text articles for analysis. A further fifteen references describing novel techniques or applications derived from reference lists (snowballing) were also included.
Fig 2.
Distribution of literature analysed.
The proportion of literature cited describing detection tools within each of the six categories based on their mode of action or required sample type.
Table 1.
Summary of the detection tools deemed applicable for wildlife trafficking detection, with their main benefits and limitations as described in the literature.
Table 2.
Summary of the ideal properties of the detection tools deemed applicable for wildlife trafficking detection.
Note that this summary is intended to be used as a visual aid and guide only. An increase in the number of symbols associated with each category indicates how strongly it applies to the detection tool, unless otherwise indicated.