Response to ‘Improving abundance estimation by combining capture–recapture and presence–absence data: Example with a large carnivore’

Abstract

Abstract A key area of research in ecological statistics involves combining data sources from multiple streams to improve population estimates. One such model attempts to integrate capture–recapture and presence–absence data to estimate the population size of Eurasian lynx in the Jura Mountains, eastern France. This model has been observed to underestimate population sizes. We conducted an extensive simulation study to evaluate the model's performance. We describe our methods for generation of simultaneous capture–recapture and presence–absence data and demonstrate that the model is flawed. Finally, we give an outline of our hypothesis on why the model underestimates population sizes.

Keywords

• Bayesian inference
• data integration
• ecological model
• ecosystem
• endangered species
• integrated population models