Wildlife By The Numbers

An overview of marked and unmarked techniques

In this episode of Wildlife by the Numbers, hosts Matt, Grant, and Randy explore methods for estimating wildlife abundance using both marked and unmarked techniques. They discuss distance sampling, removal sampling, N-mixture models, capture-mark-recapture, and spatial capture-recapture. The conversation emphasizes the importance of robust study design, detection probability, and population closure assumptions in ecological research. Episode Quotes “Marked simply means you have an animal like an ocelot that has spots… so you can identify the same individuals over time based on their coat pattern.” “Distance sampling is a technique in which you take advantage of the fact that things are harder to see or detect at greater distances… and use that to estimate abundance.” “Spatial capture-recapture incorporates where animals were observed and where traps were located… helping produce more precise estimates of abundance and spatial distribution.” Cite this episode: https://doi.org/10.7944/usfws.wbtn.s02ep01 DOI Citation Formatter: https://citation.doi.org/ Episode music: Shapeshifter by Mr Smith [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/] is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0].  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/studio-city/shapeshifter/ [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/studio-city/shapeshifter/]

A discussion of precision examples and SMART

In this episode, Matt, Grant, and Randy explore the importance of precision, variability, and detection probability in wildlife surveys. They emphasize the need for SMART objectives—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—in designing effective monitoring programs. Real-world examples, including bighorn sheep and Rio Yaqui fishes, illustrate how survey design, observation error, and risk management influence conservation outcomes. Episode Quotes “When you have observation error, site-specific variability, and temporal changes over time—that’s a lot of variance to consider when designing a survey.”  “Before you start doing a survey, ask: how is this answer going to affect what you do?”  Cite this episode: https://doi.org/10.7944/usfws.wbtn.s01ep012 DOI Citation Formatter: https://citation.doi.org/ Episode music: Shapeshifter by Mr Smith [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/] is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0].  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/studio-city/shapeshifter/ [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/studio-city/shapeshifter/]

How Precise is Precise Enough?

Grant, Matt, and Randy gear up to discuss precision, accuracy, and variability in wildlife studies. They dive into how variability measures data spread, using range, quartiles, standard deviation, variance, and coefficient of variation (CV). Accuracy reflects closeness to the true value, precision shows clustering of estimates. Standard errors, confidence intervals, and Bayesian credibility intervals quantify estimate precision. Required precision depends on study goals, sample size, and application, ensuring reliable, interpretable, and actionable results for wildlife management and conservation. They wrap up with some examples, but the take home message is deciding how precise results need to be hinges on the question and resources. Cite this episode: https://doi.org/10.7944/usfws.wbtn.s01ep011 DOI Citation Formatter: https://citation.doi.org/ Episode music: Shapeshifter by Mr Smith [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/] is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0].  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/studio-city/shapeshifter/ [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/studio-city/shapeshifter/]

Different flavors of random sampling

Which flavor of sampling would you use? In this episode of Wildlife By The Numbers, Grant, Matt, and Randy have a conversation on the different flavors of sampling. They begin with random sampling, then move on to stratified sampling and two stage sampling. Finishing up this flavor fest of sampling with focus sampling. Examples in this episode include snails and warblers. They even talk a little bit about their earlier tomato garden examples. Cite this episode: https://doi.org/10.7944/usfws.wbtn.s01ep010 [https://doi.org/10.7944/usfws.wbtn.s01ep010] Citation formatter: https://citation.doi.org/ [https://citation.doi.org/] Episode music: Shapeshifter by Mr Smith [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/] is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0].  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/studio-city/shapeshifter/ [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/studio-city/shapeshifter/]

Peer-review publication Part 3

Matt, Grant, and Randy finish up the discussion on peer-review publication highlighting their process for selecting journals, getting the submission ready, the review and handling rejections. Randy describes the process as both an author and an associate editor. From this episode: "Randy, what happens after an author submits a paper? How how does that work from a journal standpoint?" "Well, it goes through their process, and then the editor or the chief editor distributes it down to the editor in charge of the paper, which then contacts and associates that paper, with the appropriate associate editor. And then at that time, the associate editor is responsible for creating a review team comprised of typically two to three reviewers." Cite this episode: https://doi.org/10.7944/usfws.wbtn.s01ep09 [https://doi.org/10.7944/usfws.wbtn.s01ep09] Citation formatter: https://citation.doi.org/ [https://citation.doi.org/] Episode music: Shapeshifter by Mr Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/studio-city/shapeshifter/ [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/mr-smith/studio-city/shapeshifter/]