Comparison Of Population Reconstruction Methods Using Age At Harvest Data And Catch Effort

Integrated Population Models: Theory and Ecological Applications with R and JAGS is the first book on integrated population models, which constitute a powerful framework for combining multiple data sets from the population and the individual levels to estimate demographic parameters, and population size and trends. These models identify drivers of population dynamics and forecast the composition and trajectory of a population. Written by two population ecologists with expertise on integrated population modeling, this book provides a comprehensive synthesis of the relevant theory of integrated population models with an extensive overview of practical applications, using Bayesian methods by means of case studies. The book contains fully-documented, complete code for fitting all models in the free software, R and JAGS. It also includes all required code for pre- and post-model-fitting analysis. Integrated Population Models is an invaluable reference for researchers and practitioners involved in population analysis, and for graduate-level students in ecology, conservation biology, wildlife management, and related fields. The text is ideal for self-study and advanced graduate-level courses. Offers practical and accessible ecological applications of IPMs (integrated population models) Provides full documentation of analyzed code in the Bayesian framework Written and structured for an easy approach to the subject, especially for non-statisticians

The problem of estimating animal abundance is common in wildlife management and environmental impact assessment. Capture-recapture and removal methods are often used to estimate population size. Statistical Inference From Capture Data On Closed Animal Populations, a monograph by Otis et al. (1978), provides us with a comprehensive synthesis of much of the wildlife and statistical literature on the methods, as well as some extensions of the general theory. In our primer, we focus on capture-recapture and removal methods for trapping studies in which a population is assumed to be closed and do not treat open-population models, such as the Jolly-Seber model, or catch-effort methods in any detail. The primer, written for students interested in population estimation, is intended for use with the more theoretical monograph.

Wildlife Demography compiles the multitude of available estimation techniques based on sex and age data, and presents these varying techniques in one organized, unified volume. Designed to guide researchers to the most appropriate estimator based upon their particular data set and the desired level of study precision, this book provides quantitative consideration, statistical models, estimator variance, assumptions and examples of use. The authors focus on estimation techniques using sex and age ratios because this data is relatively easy to collect and commonly used by wildlife management. Applicable to a wide array of wildlife species, including game and non-game birds and mammals Features more than 100 annotated examples illustrating application of statistical methods Includes more than 640 references of the analysis of nontagging data and the factors that may influence interpretation Derives historical and ad hoc demographic methods in a modern statistical framework

Population reconstruction models are commonly used by wildlife managers to analyze animal populations, although realistic and accurate population information is gener- ally unavailable for evaluating these methods. To aid in the evaluation of population reconstruction models, we developed a stochastic harvest Leslie matrix simulation model that generates population and harvest data. The ergodic results of the pro- jection by the stochastic harvest Leslie matrix simulation model and the stochastic growth rate under such a projection were studied. The stochastic harvest Leslie ma- trix simulation model was proved to generate at least weakly-ergodic population pro- jection results. Through extensive simulation studies, the population age distribution generated by the simulation model was shown to be convergent, which is the usual model assumption underlying population reconstruction methods. A new modeling approach for analyzing population age distribution based only on harvest data was also proposed. Through extensive simulation studies, this new modeling approach was shown to provide accurate estimation of the population age distribution while imposing no strict assumptions on the fertility and the natural mortality of animals. A new R package, Wildlife 1.0, contains the main results from this thesis.

This book serves as an advanced text on fisheries and fishery population dynamics and as a reference for fisheries scientists. It provides a thorough treatment of contemporary topics in quantitative fisheries science and emphasizes the link between biology and theory by explaining the assumptions inherent in the quantitative methods. The analytical methods are accessible to a wide range of biologists, and the book includes numerous examples. The book is unique in covering such advanced topics as optimal harvesting, migratory stocks, age-structured models, and size models.

Harvest of Fish and Wildlife: New Paradigms for Sustainable Management unites experts in wildlife and fishery sciences for an interdisciplinary overview of harvest management. This book presents unique insights for embracing the complete social-ecological system to ensure a sustainable future. It educates users on evolutionary and population dynamics; social and political influences; hunter and angler behavior; decision processes; impacts of regulations; and stakeholder involvement. Features: Written by twenty-four teams of leading scientists and managers. Promotes transparent justification for fishing and hunting regulations. Provides examples for integrating decision making into management. Emphasizes creativity in management by integrating art and science. This book appeals to population biologists, evolutionary biologists and social scientists. It is a key resource for on-the-ground managers and research scientists developing harvesting applications. As the book’s contributors explain: “Making decisions that are robust to uncertainty...is a paradigm shift with a lot of potential to improve outcomes for fish and wildlife populations.” –Andrew Tyre and Brigitte Tenhumberg “Temporal shifts in system states...must somehow be anticipated and dealt with to derive harvest policies that remain optimal in the long term.” –Michael Conroy “Proactive, effective management of sportspersons...will be essential in the new paradigm of harvest management.” –Matthew Gruntorad and Christopher Chizinski