scholarly journals Robust Estimation of Population Size in Closed Animal Populations from Capture-Recapture Experiments

Biometrics ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 1035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth H. Pollock ◽  
Mark C. Otto
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abu Abdul-Quader

BACKGROUND Population size estimation of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam relied on the UNAIDS Estimation and Projection Package and reports from the city police department. The two estimates vary widely. OBJECTIVE To estimate the population size of people who inject drugs in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam METHODS Using Respondent-driven sampling (RDS), we implemented two-source capture-recapture method to estimate the population size of PWID in HCMC in 2017 in 7 out of 24 districts. The study included men or women aged at least 18 years who reported injecting illicit drugs in the last 90 days and who had lived in the city the past six months. We calculated two sets of size estimates, the first assumed that all participants in each survey round resided in the district where the survey was conducted, the second, used the district of residence as reported by the participant. District estimates were summed to obtain an aggregate estimate for the seven districts. To calculate the city total, we weighted the population size estimates for each district by the inverse of the stratum specific sampling probabilities. RESULTS The first estimate resulted in a population size of 19,155 (95% CI: 17,006–25,039). The second one generated a smaller population size estimate of 12,867 (95% CI: 11,312–17,393). CONCLUSIONS The two-survey capture-recapture exercise provided two disparate estimates of PWID in HCMC. For planning HIV prevention and care service needs among PWID in HCMC, both estimates may need to be taken into consideration together with size estimates from other sources.


2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 320-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank AM Tuyttens

The algebraic relationships, underlying assumptions, and performance of the recently proposed closed-subpopulation method are compared with those of other commonly used methods for estimating the size of animal populations from mark-recapture records. In its basic format the closed-subpopulation method is similar to the Manly-Parr method and less restrictive than the Jolly-Seber method. Computer simulations indicate that the accuracy and precision of the population estimators generated by the basic closed-subpopulation method are almost comparable to those generated by the Jolly-Seber method, and generally better than those of the minimum-number-alive method. The performance of all these methods depends on the capture probability, the number of previous and subsequent trapping occasions, and whether the population is demographically closed or open. Violation of the assumption of equal catchability causes a negative bias that is more pronounced for the closed-subpopulation and Jolly-Seber estimators than for the minimum-number-alive. The closed-subpopulation method provides a simple and flexible framework for illustrating that the precision and accuracy of population-size estimates can be improved by incorporating evidence, other than mark-recapture data, of the presence of recognisable individuals in the population (from radiotelemetry, mortality records, or sightings, for example) and by exploiting specific characteristics of the population concerned.


Oryx ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Özgün Emre Can ◽  
İrfan Kandemi̇r ◽  
İnci̇ Togan

AbstractThe wildcat Felis silvestris is a protected species in Turkey but the lack of information on its status is an obstacle to conservation initiatives. To assess the status of the species we interviewed local forestry and wildlife personnel and conducted field surveys in selected sites in northern, eastern and western Turkey during 2000–2007. In January–May 2006 we surveyed for the wildcat using 16 passive infrared-trigged camera traps in Yaylacı k Research Forest, a 50-km2 forest patch in Yenice Forest in northern Turkey. A total sampling effort of 1,200 camera trap days over 40 km2 yielded photo-captures of eight individual wildcats over five sampling occasions. Using the software MARK to estimate population size the closed capture–recapture model M0, which assumes a constant capture probability among all occasions and individuals, best fitted the capture history data. The wildcat population size in Yaylacı k Research Forest was estimated to be 11 (confidence interval 9–23). Yenice Forest is probably one of the most important areas for the long-term conservation of the wildcat as it is the largest intact forest habitat in Turkey with little human presence, and without human settlements, and with a high diversity of prey species. However, it has been a major logging area and is not protected. The future of Yenice Forest and its wildcat population could be secured by granting this region a protection status and enforcing environmental legislation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-336
Author(s):  
M. S. C. S. Lima ◽  
J. Pederassi ◽  
C. A. S. Souza

Abstract The practice of capture-recapture to estimate the diversity is well known to many animal groups, however this practice in the larval phase of anuran amphibians is incipient. We aimed at evaluating the Lincoln estimator, Venn diagram and Bayes theorem in the inference of population size of a larval phase anurocenose from lotic environment. The adherence of results was evaluated using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The marking of tadpoles for later recapture and methods measurement was made with eosin methylene blue. When comparing the results of Lincoln-Petersen estimator corresponding to the Venn diagram and Bayes theorem, we detected percentage differences per sampling, i.e., the proportion of sampled anuran genera is kept among the three methods, although the values are numerically different. By submitting these results to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test we have found no significant differences. Therefore, no matter the estimator, the measured value is adherent and estimates the total population. Together with the marking methodology, which did not change the behavior of tadpoles, the present study helps to fill the need of more studies on larval phase of amphibians in Brazil, especially in semi-arid northeast.


2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 425 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Young

During this study, 634 eastern hoseshoe bats, Rhinolophus megaphyllus, were captured at three colonies in south-east Queensland, with most data coming from two colonies (Anjuramba mine and Ravensbourne cave). Colony size, sex ratios, age structure, and colony function varied between colonies and with season. Capture–recapture data of banded bats was used to monitor movement patterns, seasonal weight changes, colony-size estimates at Anjuramba (JOLLY model), and the recapture frequency according to sex and age. The JOLLY estimator of the population size over-estimated the actual population at Anjuramba on most occasions but paralleled changes in population size. Of the 319 bats banded, 21.9% were recaptured, with only one recovery involving a movement between roosts. Adult males have a high roost-site fidelity and are more sedentary than adult females. The recapture rate and recapture frequency for adult males was significantly higher than for adult females. R. megaphyllus is active throughout the year but may enter torpor for short periods, with more females than males observed in torpor. There was no significant association between torpor and season. Longevity records of 7 years and 1 month were recorded for a sub-adult female and 7 years and 7 months for a juvenile female.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecile Vanpe ◽  
Blaise Piedallu ◽  
Pierre-Yves Quenette ◽  
Jerome Sentilles ◽  
Guillaume Queney ◽  
...  

Abundance of small populations of large mammals may be assessed using complete counts of the different individuals detected over a time period, so-called minimum detected size (MDS). However, as population is growing larger and its distribution is expanding wider, the risk of under-estimating population size using MDS is increasing sharply due to the rarely fulfilled assumption of perfect detection of all individuals of the population, and as a result, the need to report uncertainty in population size estimates becomes crucial. We addressed these issues within the framework of the monitoring of the critically endangered Pyrenean brown bear population that was on the edge of extinction in the mid-1990s with only five individuals remaining, but was reinforced by 11 bears originated from Slovenia since then. We used Pollock's closed robust design (PCRD) capture-recapture models applied to the cross-border non-invasive sampling data from France, Spain and Andorra to provide the first published annual abundance estimates of the Pyrenean brown bear population and its trends over time. Annual population size increased and displayed a fivefold rise between 2008 and 2020, reaching > 60 individuals in 2020. Detection heterogeneity among individuals may stem from intraspecific home range size disparities making it more likely to find signs of individuals who move more. We found a lower survival rate in cubs than in adults and subadults, since the formers suffer from more mortality risks (such as infanticides, predations, mother death or abandonments) than the latters. Our study provides evidence that the PCRD capture-recapture modelling approach can provide reliable estimates of the size of and trend in large mammal populations, while minimizing bias due to inter-individual heterogeneity in detection probabilities and allowing the quantification of sampling uncertainty surrounding these estimates. Such information is vital for informing management decision-making and assessing population conservation status.


2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 396-401
Author(s):  
Michael Calver ◽  
Timothy Blake

Estimating population size is essential for many applications in population ecology, so capture–recapture techniques to do this are often taught in secondary school classrooms and introductory university units. However, few classroom simulations of capture–recapture consider the sensitivity of results to sampling intensity, the important concept that the population size calculated is an estimate with error attached, or the consequences of violating assumptions underpinning particular capture–recapture models. We describe a simple approach to teaching the Lincoln index method of capture–recapture using packs of playing cards. Students can trial different sampling intensities, calculate 95% confidence intervals for population estimates, and explore the consequences of violating specific assumptions.


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