Improved inference from recapture experiments with behavioural response through modelling and auxiliary experimentation

Abstract

Allowing for behavioural response in a recapture experiment involves a large reduction in the precision of estimating the unknown population size. Unless the number of individuals captured is very large, the model is of little use in practice. This paper studies the extent to which this efficiency loss can be reduced by modelling the behavioural response. The most dramatic improvements in efficiency are obtained by estimating the rate of the behavioural response from an intensive study of a small subset of the population. In many practical situations this may be a cost- and time-effective alternative to intensively sampling the entire population.