ACCURACY IN MOODE MANDIBLE SIZE VERSUS TOOTH WEAR ASSESSMENTS

Accuracy checks of tooth wear assessments and size measurements were undertaken for mandibles submitted by moose hunters in Newfoundland. Tooth wear class, a subjective assessment often used in age interpretation, was inconsistent in repeat measurements by the same technician in 23% of cases, and, i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: McLaren, Brian, Curran, Richard
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Lakehead University 2001
Subjects:
Online Access:http://alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/533
Description
Summary:Accuracy checks of tooth wear assessments and size measurements were undertaken for mandibles submitted by moose hunters in Newfoundland. Tooth wear class, a subjective assessment often used in age interpretation, was inconsistent in repeat measurements by the same technician in 23% of cases, and, in comparison between 2 technicians, in 53% of cases. There was confusion particularly between Classes II and III, and consistent bias in the interpretation of higher classes. Size measurement was much more consistent, with 1-2% relative error in repeat measurements of a sample size of n ≥ 77. Smaller sample sizes may result in larger relative measurement error because individual repeat measurements differed by as much as 17 mm.