Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
Density estimation in tiger populations: Combining information for strong inference
Author(s)
Gopalaswamy, A. M.; Royle, J. A.; Delampady, M.; Nichols, J. D.; Karanth, K. U.; Macdonald, D. W.
Published
2012
Publisher
Ecology
Published Version DOI
https://doi.org/10.1890/11-2110.1
Abstract
A productive way forward in studies of animal populations is to efficiently make use of all the information available, either as raw data or as published sources, on critical parameters of interest. In this study, we demonstrate two approaches to the use of multiple sources of information on a parameter of fundamental interest to ecologists: animal density. The first approach produces estimates simultaneously from two different sources of data. The second approach was developed for situations in which initial data collection and analysis are followed up by subsequent data collection and prior knowledge is updated with new data using a stepwise process. Both approaches are used to estimate density of a rare and elusive predator, the tiger, by combining photographic and fecal DNA spatial capture-recapture data. The model, which combined information, provided the most precise estimate of density (8.5 +/- 1.95 tigers/100 km(2) [posterior mean +/- SD]) relative to a model that utilized only one data source (photographic, 12.02 +/- 3.02 tigers/100 km(2) and fecal DNA, 6.65 +/- 2.37 tigers/100 km(2)). Our study demonstrates that, by accounting for multiple sources of available information, estimates of animal density can be significantly improved.
Keywords
apex predator, Bayesian inference, carnivore monitoring, felid, conservation, keystone, low density, Panthera tigris, population, estimation, spatial capture-recapture, stepwise updating, umbrella species, Western Ghats, India, capture-recapture models, hierarchical model, mark-recapture, camera trap, dynamics, ecology
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB13885