Trap Configuration and Spacing Influences Parameter Estimates in Spatial Capture-Recapture Models

An increasing number of studies employ spatial capture-recapture models to estimate population size, but there has been limited research on how different spatial sampling designs and trap configurations influence parameter estimators. Spatial capture-recapture models provide an advantage over non-spatial models by explicitly accounting for heterogeneous detection probabilities among individuals that arise due to the spatial organization of individuals relative to sampling devices. We simulated black bear (Ursus americanus) populations and spatial capture-recapture data to evaluate the influence of trap configuration and trap spacing on estimates of population size and a spatial scale parameter, sigma, that relates to home range size. We varied detection probability and home range size, and considered three trap configurations common to large-mammal mark-recapture studies: regular spacing, clustered, and a temporal sequence of different cluster configurations (i.e., trap relocation). We explored trap spacing and number of traps per cluster by varying the number of traps. The clustered arrangement performed well when detection rates were low, and provides for easier field implementation than the sequential trap arrangement. However, performance differences between trap configurations diminished as home range size increased. Our simulations suggest it is important to consider trap spacing relative to home range sizes, with traps ideally spaced no more than twice the spatial scale parameter. While spatial capture-recapture models can accommodate different sampling designs and still estimate parameters with accuracy and precision, our simulations demonstrate that aspects of sampling design, namely trap configuration and spacing, must consider study area size, ranges of individual movement, and home range sizes in the study population.

[1]  Hana Sevcikova,et al.  R Interface to RNG with Multiple Streams , 2015 .

[2]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Small-mammal density estimation: A field comparison of grid-based vs. web-based density estimators , 2003 .

[3]  R Core Team,et al.  R: A language and environment for statistical computing. , 2014 .

[4]  J. Nichols,et al.  ESTIMATION OF TIGER DENSITIES IN INDIA USING PHOTOGRAPHIC CAPTURES AND RECAPTURES , 1998 .

[5]  Gordon B. Stenhouse,et al.  An empirical test of DNA mark–recapture sampling strategies for grizzly bears , 2006 .

[6]  M. Tobler,et al.  An evaluation of camera traps for inventorying large‐ and medium‐sized terrestrial rainforest mammals , 2008 .

[7]  HABITAT USE BY FEMALE BLACK BEARS IN WESTERN MARYLAND , 2002 .

[8]  K. Pollock.  A Capture-Recapture Design Robust to Unequal Probability of Capture , 1982 .

[9]  Shirley Pledger,et al.  CORRECTION OF BIAS DUE TO HETEROGENEOUS CAPTURE PROBABILITY IN CAPTURE-RECAPTURE STUDIES OF OPEN POPULATIONS , 1998 .

[10]  Marcella J. Kelly,et al.  Ocelot Leopardus pardalis in Belize: the impact of trap spacing and distance moved on density estimates , 2007, Oryx.

[11]  David Borchers,et al.  A non-technical overview of spatially explicit capture–recapture models , 2012, Journal of Ornithology.

[12]  J. Franklin,et al.  The elements of statistical learning: data mining, inference and prediction , 2005 .

[13]  James E. Hines,et al.  ESTIMATING TEMPORARY EMIGRATION USING CAPTURE-RECAPTURE DATA WITH POLLOCK'S ROBUST DESIGN , 1997 .

[14]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Statistical inference from capture data on closed animal populations , 1980 .

[15]  Søren Bondrup-Nielsen,et al.  Density estimation as a function of live-trapping grid and home range size , 1983 .

[16]  Joseph E. Duchamp,et al.  Density and distribution of a colonizing front of the American black bear Ursus americanus , 2011 .

[17]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Distance Sampling: Estimating Abundance of Biological Populations , 1995 .

[18]  J Andrew Royle,et al.  A hierarchical model for spatial capture-recapture data. , 2008, Ecology.

[19]  G. Mowat,et al.  Estimating population size of grizzly bears using hair capture, DNA profiling, and mark-recapture analysis , 2000 .

[20]  Daniel G. Brown,et al.  American black bear habitat selection in northern Lower Peninsula, Michigan, USA, using discrete-choice modeling , 2010 .

[21]  A Comparison of Grid and Index-Line Trapping Methods for Small Mammal Surveys , 1988 .

[22]  M. Proctor,et al.  SAMPLING DESIGN AND BIAS IN DNA-BASED CAPTURE–MARK–RECAPTURE POPULATION AND DENSITY ESTIMATES OF GRIZZLY BEARS , 2004 .

[23]  J. S. Lindzey,et al.  Dynamics of Home Range and Movements of Adult Black Bears in Northeastern Pennsylvania , 1980 .

[24]  Frank T. van Manen,et al.  Challenges of DNA-Based Mark–Recapture Studies of American Black Bears , 2008 .

[25]  M. Efford.  Density estimation in live‐trapping studies , 2004 .

[26]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Capture-Recapture and Removal Methods for Sampling Closed Populations , 1983 .

[27]  Christopher D. Manning,et al.  Introduction to Information Retrieval , 2010, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[28]  RONALD G. GROGAN,et al.  ESTIMATING POPULATION SIZE OF A LOW-DENSITY BLACK BEAR POPULATION USING CAPTURE-RESIGHT , 2022 .

[29]  J. Buzas,et al.  Comparing Scat Detection Dogs, Cameras, and Hair Snares for Surveying Carnivores , 2007 .

[30]  J. Andrew Royle,et al.  Spatial Capture-Recapture , 2013 .

[31]  Rachel M. Fewster,et al.  Estimating population size by spatially explicit capture–recapture , 2013 .

[32]  D L Borchers,et al.  Spatially Explicit Maximum Likelihood Methods for Capture–Recapture Studies , 2008, Biometrics.

[33]  J. Andrew Royle,et al.  Fully Spatial Capture-Recapture Models , 2014 .

[34]  Jerrold L. Belant,et al.  How Does Spatial Study Design Influence Density Estimates from Spatial Capture-Recapture Models? , 2012, PloS one.

[35]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Capture-Recapture and Removal Methods for Sampling Closed Populations , 1983 .

[36]  D. Pearson,et al.  Transect versus grid trapping arrangements for sampling small-mammal communities , 2016 .

[37]  J Andrew Royle,et al.  A hierarchical model for spatial capture-recapture data: comment. , 2011, Ecology.

[38]  J. Andrew Royle,et al.  Estimating Black Bear Density Using DNA Data From Hair Snares , 2010 .

[39]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Distance Sampling-Estimating Abundance of Biological Populations. , 1994 .

[40]  Per Wegge,et al.  Effects of trapping effort and trap shyness on estimates of tiger abundance from camera trap studies , 2004 .

[41]  Rebecca J. Foster,et al.  A critique of density estimation from camera-trap data† , 2012 .

[42]  William L. Kendall,et al.  ROBUSTNESS OF CLOSED CAPTURE-RECAPTURE METHODS TO VIOLATIONS OF THE CLOSURE ASSUMPTION , 1999 .