EXST 7024 - Population Statistics I

Spring 2003

Web-based Using Semester Book in PAWS

Catalog Description: EXST 7024, Population Statistics I (3) V. Specialized sampling for estimation of plant and animal population parameters including density and abundance, survival, recruitment, space-use, and spatial pattern; methods used include quadrats, line transects, plotless sampling techniques, change-in-ratio estimators including capture-recapture and exploitation or catch-per-effort estimators, and home range models.

Course Prerequisites: Statistical Methods I (EXST 7005) or equivalent.

Course Objectives: General objectives include the following:

Familiarize student with several of the more "well known" sampling methods, especially those for sampling plant and animal populations.

Familiarize student with the basic terminology and mathematical language used to describe population sampling models and techniques.

Provide hands-on practice with several sampling models and techniques that are often used to estimate population size, survival, recruitment, and other population characteristics, and to demonstrate some of the software that can be used to analyze the sampling data.

Give the student a variety of alternative approaches for estimating characteristics of plant and animal populations for environmental monitoring and for ecological experiments and surveys.

Provide a stimulus for the student to take a greater role in her data analysis and stimulate the student's general interest in statistics.

Instructor: Dr. E. Barry Moser, 149A Ag. Administration, 578-8376, sbbmoser@lsu.edu, http://www.stat.lsu.edu/faculty/moser/

Office Hours: Semester Book EMail and Discussion List or by appointment

Text: Manly, B.F.J. 2001. Statistics for Environmental Science and Management. Chapman and Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, 326pp.

Assignments and Grading: Grades will be based upon regular home work assignments (20% combined), a sampling project planned and undertaken by the student (20%), class participation through discussions (10%), and midterm (25%) and final (25%) examinations, where each exam, project, participation and combined homeworks are assigned 100 points each. Exams must be taken at the assigned times unless prior approval from Dr. Moser is obtained. Unauthorized/unexcused missed exams will count as 0 points. Projects and homeworks turned in 1, 2, 3 days late, and later will score 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0%, respectively, of their unpenalized value.

Grading Scale: Letter grade assignments will be made according to the scale below.

Score:	90-100	80-89.9	70-79.9	60-69.9	0-59.9
Grade:	A	B	C	D	F

Event Dates: Homeworks will be scheduled during the semester according to the topics. Projects will be due April 30 to permit time for web posting and review by the class. The specific date/time/place for the midterm and final exams will be scheduled later depending upon student class schedules.

Event	Date
Homeworks	TBA
Discussions	Weekly
Midterm Exam	TBA Week of March 10
Project	April 30
Final Exam	TBA Week of May 12

CONTENT OUTLINE

	Topic	Readings¹
1	Introduction to Statistics in Environmental Science	Manly Ch 1
2	Ecological/Environmental Sampling Principles	Manly Ch 2
3	Probability Distributions in Ecology Models for Data, Estimation Methods	Manly Ch 3, Appendix A
4	Line Intercept and Line Transect Sampling Distance data models	Buckland Ch 1-4, 8
5	Capture-recapture Sampling Log-linear Models for Capture-recapture Band Recovery Models	Readings TBA
6	Environmental Studies and Experiments Design- and model-based inference Psuedoreplication	Manly Ch 4
7	Monte Carlo and Randomization Tests	Manly Ch 4
8	Spatial Pattern Techniques Plot or Quadrat Counts Distance and Mapped Point Patterns	Manly Ch 9
9	Environmental Monitoring and Impact Assessment BACI designs	Manly Ch 5-6
10	Bioequivalence	Manly Ch 7

¹Readings:

Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R., Burnham, K.P. and Laake, J.L. 1993. Distance Sampling: Estimating Abundance of Biological Populations. Chapman and Hall, London, reprinted 1999 by RUWPA, University of St. Andrews, Scotland. 446pp.

Manly, B.F.J. 2001. Statistics for Environmental Science and Management. Chapman and Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, 326pp.

Additional Sources:

Burnhan, K.P., D.R. Anderson, G.C. White, C. Brownie, and K.H. Pollock. 1987. Design and Analysis Methods for Fish Survival Experiments Based on Release-recapture. American Fisheries Society Monograph 5, American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD, 437pp.

Green, R.H. 1979. Sampling Design and Statistical Methods for Environmental Biologists. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 257pp.

Ludwig, J.A., and J.F. Reynolds. 1988. Statistical Ecology: A Primer on Methods and Computing. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 337pp.

Manly, B.F.J. 1985. The Statistics of Natural Selection on Animal Populations. Chapman and Hall, 475pp.

Scheiner, S.M., and J. Gurevitch. 2001. Design and Analysis of Ecological Experiments, 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 415pp.

Seber, G.A.F. 1982. The Estimation of Animal Abundance and Related Parameters, 2nd Edition. MacMillan, 654pp.

Thompson, S.K. 1992. Sampling. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 343pp.

Thompson, S.K., and G.A.F. Seber. 1996. Adaptive Sampling. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 265pp.

Thompson, W.L., G.C. White, and C. Gowan. 1998. Monitoring Vertebrate Populations. Academic Press, San Diego, 365pp.

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