Measurement error in a burrow index to monitor relative population size in the common vole
Various population indices are widely used to monitor relative population size of many pest and game species to aid their management. However, information on the level of uncertainty associated with their estimates is rarely available. Here we explore sampling and systematic error associated with th...
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ftczechacademysc:oai:kramerius.lib.cas.cz:uuid:2aead1db-0405-1cf4-258f-75e44f9029c9 2024-03-17T08:57:29+00:00 Measurement error in a burrow index to monitor relative population size in the common vole Lisická Lenka Losík Jan Zejda Jan Heroldová Marta Nesvadbová Jiřina Tkadlec Emil https://kramerius.lib.cas.cz/view/uuid:2aead1db-0405-1cf4-258f-75e44f9029c9 eng eng https://kramerius.lib.cas.cz/view/uuid:2aead1db-0405-1cf4-258f-75e44f9029c9 bias colonisation dispersion Microtus arvalis precision sampling error article ftczechacademysc 2024-02-19T22:42:29Z Various population indices are widely used to monitor relative population size of many pest and game species to aid their management. However, information on the level of uncertainty associated with their estimates is rarely available. Here we explore sampling and systematic error associated with the index of re-opened burrow entrances which is used extensively in central Europe for surveying common vole populations. We found that relative sampling errors were enormous for low-density populations, attaining almost 400%. However, in high-density populations and for large sample sizes, the relative error dropped below 10% and the estimate is quite reliable. The dispersion of burrow entrances became more clumped at low population densities enhancing further the sampling variation. We demonstrated that the index is related to population size in a non-linear fashion, overestimating the population change at high densities. Consequently, population dynamics of the common vole described by the untransformed burrow index appear more variable than they are in reality. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common vole Microtus arvalis Czech Academy of Sciences: dKNAV |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Czech Academy of Sciences: dKNAV |
op_collection_id |
ftczechacademysc |
language |
English |
topic |
bias colonisation dispersion Microtus arvalis precision sampling error |
spellingShingle |
bias colonisation dispersion Microtus arvalis precision sampling error Lisická Lenka Losík Jan Zejda Jan Heroldová Marta Nesvadbová Jiřina Tkadlec Emil Measurement error in a burrow index to monitor relative population size in the common vole |
topic_facet |
bias colonisation dispersion Microtus arvalis precision sampling error |
description |
Various population indices are widely used to monitor relative population size of many pest and game species to aid their management. However, information on the level of uncertainty associated with their estimates is rarely available. Here we explore sampling and systematic error associated with the index of re-opened burrow entrances which is used extensively in central Europe for surveying common vole populations. We found that relative sampling errors were enormous for low-density populations, attaining almost 400%. However, in high-density populations and for large sample sizes, the relative error dropped below 10% and the estimate is quite reliable. The dispersion of burrow entrances became more clumped at low population densities enhancing further the sampling variation. We demonstrated that the index is related to population size in a non-linear fashion, overestimating the population change at high densities. Consequently, population dynamics of the common vole described by the untransformed burrow index appear more variable than they are in reality. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lisická Lenka Losík Jan Zejda Jan Heroldová Marta Nesvadbová Jiřina Tkadlec Emil |
author_facet |
Lisická Lenka Losík Jan Zejda Jan Heroldová Marta Nesvadbová Jiřina Tkadlec Emil |
author_sort |
Lisická Lenka |
title |
Measurement error in a burrow index to monitor relative population size in the common vole |
title_short |
Measurement error in a burrow index to monitor relative population size in the common vole |
title_full |
Measurement error in a burrow index to monitor relative population size in the common vole |
title_fullStr |
Measurement error in a burrow index to monitor relative population size in the common vole |
title_full_unstemmed |
Measurement error in a burrow index to monitor relative population size in the common vole |
title_sort |
measurement error in a burrow index to monitor relative population size in the common vole |
url |
https://kramerius.lib.cas.cz/view/uuid:2aead1db-0405-1cf4-258f-75e44f9029c9 |
genre |
Common vole Microtus arvalis |
genre_facet |
Common vole Microtus arvalis |
op_relation |
https://kramerius.lib.cas.cz/view/uuid:2aead1db-0405-1cf4-258f-75e44f9029c9 |
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1793766682811957248 |