Review Papers: Modeling Capture, Recapture, and Removal Statistics for Estimation of Demographic Parameters for Fish and Wildlife Populations: Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

In this article I review the modeling of capture, recapture, and removal statistics for the purpose of estimating demographic parameters of fish and wildlife populations. Topics considered include capture-recapture models, band or tag return models, removal and catch per unit effort models, selective removal or change-in-ratio models, radio-tagging survival models, and nest survival models. The purpose is to present important concepts in a general manner for the benefit of a wide audience of statisticians. I will not attempt to be comprehensive, and I indulge in speculation about future directions. I indicate the importance of different statistical tools to this subject, such as Bayesian inference, “boot strapping,” robustness studies, goodness-of-fit tests. I also emphasize connections to other application areas of statistics. Capture-recapture methods, for example, are being considered for estimation of a variety of elusive human populations, such as the homeless and people missed in the census. Survival analysis, widely used in medicine and engineering, can also be applied to radio-tagged animals.

Key Words:

• Band return models
• Capture-recapture models
• Catch effort models
• Change-in-ratio models
• Nesting survival models
• Population estimation
• Radiotelemetry
• Recapture models
• Removal models
• Selective removal models
• Survival analysis
• Survival estimation