Complete tag loss in capture-recapture studies affects abundance estimates: An elephant seal case study

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dc.contributor.authorMalcolm-White, Emily
dc.contributor.authorMcMahon, Clive R.
dc.contributor.authorCowen, Laura L.E.
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-25T14:03:15Z
dc.date.available2020-06-25T14:03:15Z
dc.date.copyright2020en_US
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractIn capture–recapture studies, recycled individuals occur when individuals lose all of their tags and are recaptured as though they were new individuals. Typically, the effect of these recycled individuals is assumed negligible. Through a simulation‐based study of double‐tagging experiments, we examined the effect of recycled individuals on parameter estimates in the Jolly–Seber model with tag loss (Cowen & Schwarz, 2006). We validated the simulation framework using long‐term census data of elephant seals. Including recycled individuals did not affect estimates of capture, survival, and tag‐retention probabilities. However, with low tag‐retention rates, high capture rates, and high survival rates, recycled individuals produced overestimates of population size. For the elephant seal case study, we found population size estimates to be between 8% and 53% larger when recycled individuals were ignored. Ignoring the effects of recycled individuals can cause large biases in population size estimates. These results are particularly noticeable in longer studies.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipSimulation studies and analyses were run on WestGrid/Compute Canada with assistance from Dr. Belaid Moa. LC was supported by NSERC Discovery Grant 327025‐2013.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMalcolm-White, E., McMahon, C. R., & Cowen, L. L. E. (2020). Complete tag loss in capturerecapture studies affects abundance estimates: An elephant seal case study. Ecology and Evolution, 10(5), 2377-2384. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6052.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6052
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/11886
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherEcology and Evolutionen_US
dc.subjectabundance
dc.subjectcapture-mark-recapture
dc.subjectcomplete tag loss
dc.subjectdemography
dc.subjectdouble tagging
dc.subjectelephant seal
dc.subjectJolly-Seber
dc.subjectrecycled individual
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics
dc.titleComplete tag loss in capture-recapture studies affects abundance estimates: An elephant seal case studyen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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