Integrated Analysis of Capture–Recapture–Resighting Data and Counts of Unmarked Birds at Stop-Over Sites

The models presented in this paper are motivated by a stop-over study of semipalmated sandpipers, Calidris pusilla. Two sets of data were collected at the stop-over site: a capture–recapture–resighting data set and a vector of counts of unmarked birds. The two data sets are analyzed simultaneously by combining a new model for the capture–recapture–resighting data set with a binomial likelihood for the counts. The aim of the analysis is to estimate the total number of birds that used the site and the average duration of stop-over. The combined analysis is shown to be highly efficient, even when just 1 % of birds are recaptured, and is recommended for similar investigations. This article has supplementary material online.

[1]  W. C. Hunter,et al.  Development of management objectives for waterfowl and shorebirds within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley , 2000 .

[2]  J. Nichols,et al.  Statistical inference for capture-recapture experiments , 1992 .

[3]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Stopover Duration Analysis with Departure Probability Dependent on Unknown Time Since Arrival , 2009 .

[4]  K. Colhoun,et al.  Estimating the Total Number of Birds Using a Staging Site , 2001 .

[5]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Estimating survival from joint analysis of resighting and radiotelemetry capture-recapture data for wild animals , 2001 .

[6]  S. Haig,et al.  Shorebird use of South Carolina managed and natural coastal wetlands , 1996 .

[7]  Stephanie L. Jones,et al.  The Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) , 2005 .

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

[9]  Brett T. McClintock,et al.  Bayesian analysis of abundance for binomial sighting data with unknown number of marked individuals , 2009, Environmental and Ecological Statistics.

[10]  Brett T. McClintock,et al.  From NOREMARK to MARK: software for estimating demographic parameters using mark–resight methodology , 2010, Journal of Ornithology.

[11]  R. Pradel,et al.  MIGRATING BIRDS STOP OVER LONGER THAN USUALLY THOUGHT: AN IMPROVED CAPTURE–RECAPTURE ANALYSIS , 2001 .

[12]  P Besbeas,et al.  Integrating Mark–Recapture–Recovery and Census Data to Estimate Animal Abundance and Demographic Parameters , 2002, Biometrics.

[13]  Gary C. White,et al.  Population Estimation with Radio-Marked Animals , 2001 .

[14]  J. Nichols,et al.  Monitoring for conservation. , 2006, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[15]  Joshua J. Millspaugh,et al.  Radio Tracking and Animal Populations , 2001 .

[16]  E. Gwinner.  Bird Migration: Physiology and Ecophysiology , 2011 .

[17]  Marc Mangel,et al.  A Simple Population Estimate Based on Simulation for Capture‐Recapture and Capture‐Resight Data , 1989 .

[18]  Stephen V. Stehman,et al.  Desirable design characteristics for long-term monitoring of ecological variables , 1996, Environmental and Ecological Statistics.

[19]  James E. Hines,et al.  Demographic consequences of migratory stopover: linking red knot survival to horseshoe crab spawning abundance , 2011 .

[20]  J. Collazo,et al.  LOCAL ANNUAL SURVIVAL AND SEASONAL RESIDENCY RATES OF SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS (CALIDRIS PUSILLA) IN PUERTO RICO , 2007 .

[21]  J. Collazo,et al.  Accessible habitat for shorebirds: Factors influencing its availability and conservation implications , 2002 .

[22]  Carl J. Schwarz,et al.  A General Methodology for the Analysis of Capture-Recapture Experiments in Open Populations , 1996 .

[23]  James E. Lyons,et al.  Monitoring in the Context of Structured Decision-Making and Adaptive Management , 2008 .

[24]  Brett T. McClintock,et al.  A robust design mark-resight abundance estimator allowing heterogeneity in resighting probabilities , 2006 .

[25]  D. C. Bowden,et al.  Generalized mark-sight population size estimation applied to Colorado moose , 1995 .

[26]  Thomas Alerstam,et al.  Optimal Bird Migration: The Relative Importance of Time, Energy, and Safety , 1990 .

[27]  S. Skagen,et al.  On Determining the Significance of Ephemeral Continental Wetlands to North American Migratory Shorebirds , 2008 .