Ecological Methods

Ecological Methods
Contents
Prefaces
	Preface to fourth edition
	Preface to third edition
	Preface to second edition
	Preface to first edition
About the Companion Website
1 Introduction to the Study of Animal Populations
	1.1 Population estimates
		1.1.1 Absolute and related estimates
		1.1.2 Relative estimates
		1.1.3 Population indices
	1.2 Errors and confidence
	References
2 The Sampling Programme and the Measurement and Description of Dispersion
	2.1 Preliminary sampling
		2.1.1 Planning and fieldwork
		2.1.2 Statistical aspects
	2.2 The sampling programme
		2.2.1 The number of samples per habitat unit (e.g. plant, host or puddle)
		2.2.2 The sampling unit, its selection, size and shape
		2.2.3 The number of samples
		2.2.4 The pattern of sampling
		2.2.5 The timing of sampling
	2.3 Dispersion
		2.3.1 Mathematical distributions that serve as models
		2.3.2 Biological interpretation of dispersion parameters
		2.3.3 Nearest-neighbour and related techniques: measures of population size or of the departure from randomness of the distribution
	2.4 Sequential sampling
		2.4.1 Sampling numbers
	2.5 Presence or absence sampling
	2.6 Sampling a fauna
	2.7 Biological and other qualitative aspects of sampling
	2.8 Jack knife and Bootstrap techniques
	References
3 Absolute Population Estimates Using Capture–Recapture Experiments
	3.1 Capture–recapture methods
		3.1.1 Assumptions common to most methods
		3.1.2 Estimating closed populations
		3.1.3 Estimations for open populations
	3.2 Methods of marking animals
		3.2.1 Handling techniques
		3.2.2 Release
		3.2.3 Surface marks using paints and solutions of dyes
		3.2.4 Dyes and fluorescent substances in powder form
		3.2.5 Pollen
		3.2.6 Marking formed by feeding on or absorption of dyes
		3.2.7 Marking by injection, panjet or tattooing
		3.2.8 External tags
		3.2.9 Branding
		3.2.10 Mutilation
		3.2.11 Natural marks, parasites and genes
		3.2.12 Rare elements
		3.2.13 Protein marking
		3.2.14 Radioactive isotopes
		3.2.15 Radio and sonic tags
	References
4 Absolute Population Estimates by Sampling a Unit of Habitat – Air, Plants, Plant Products and Vertebrate Hosts
	4.1 Sampling from the air
	4.2 Sampling apparatus
		4.2.1 Exposed cone (Johnson–Taylor) suction trap
		4.2.2 Enclosed cone types of suction trap including the Rothamsted 12m trap
		4.2.3 Rotary and other traps
	4.3 Comparison and efficiencies of the different types of suction traps
		4.3.1 Conversion of catch to aerial density
		4.3.2 Conversion of density to total aerial population
	4.4 Sampling from plants
		4.4.1 Assessing the plant
		4.4.2 Determining the numbers of invertebrates
		4.4.3 The extraction of animals from herbage and debris
		4.4.4 Methods for animals in plant tissues
		4.4.5 Special sampling problems with animals in plant material
	4.5 Sampling from vertebrate hosts
		4.5.1 Sampling from living hosts
		4.5.2 Sampling from dead hosts
		4.5.3 Sampling from vertebrate ‘homes’
	References
5 Absolute Population Estimates by Sampling a Unit of Aquatic Habitat
	5.1 Open water
		5.1.1 Nets
		5.1.2 Pumps
		5.1.3 Water-sampling bottles
		5.1.4 The Patalas–Schindler volume sampler
		5.1.5 Particular methods for insects
	5.2 Vegetation
		5.2.1 Floating vegetation
		5.2.2 Emergent vegetation
		5.2.3 Submerged vegetation
	5.3 Bottom fauna
		5.3.1 Hand net sampling of forest litter
		5.3.2 Sampling from under stones
		5.3.3 The planting of removable portions of the substrate
		5.3.4 Cylinders and boxes for delimiting an area
		5.3.5 Trawls, bottom sledges and dredges
		5.3.6 Grabs
		5.3.7 Dendy inverting sampler
		5.3.8 Box samplers and corers
		5.3.9 Air-lift and suction devices
	5.4 Poisons and anaesthetics used for sampling fish in rock pools and small ponds
	References
6 Absolute Population Estimates by Sampling a Unit of Soil or Litter Habitat: Extraction Techniques
	6.1 Sampling
	6.2 Bulk staining
	6.3 Mechanical methods of extraction
		6.3.1 Dry sieving
		6.3.2 Wet sieving
		6.3.3 Soil washing and flotation
		6.3.4 Flotation separation of plankton, meiofauna and other small animals
		6.3.5 Separation of plant and insects by differential wetting
		6.3.6 Centrifugation
		6.3.7 Sedimentation
		6.3.8 Elutriation
		6.3.9 Sectioning
		6.3.10 Aeration
	6.4 Behavioural or dynamic methods
		6.4.1 Dry extractors
		6.4.2 Wet extractors
	6.5 Summary of the applicability of the methods
	References
7 Relative Methods of Population Measurement and the Derivation of Absolute Estimates
	7.1 Factors affecting the size of relative estimates
		7.1.1 The ‘phase’ of the animal
		7.1.2 The activity of the animal
		7.1.3 Differences in the response between species, sexes and individuals
		7.1.4 The efficiency of the trap or searching method
	7.2 The uses of relative methods
		7.2.1 Measures of the availability
		7.2.2 Indices of absolute population
		7.2.3 Estimates of absolute population
		7.2.4 Removal trapping or collecting
		7.2.5 Collecting
	7.3 Relative methods: catch per unit effort
		7.3.1 Observation by radar
		7.3.2 Hydroacoustic methods
		7.3.3 Fish counters
		7.3.4 Electric fishing
		7.3.5 Aural detection
		7.3.6 Exposure by plough
		7.3.7 Collecting with a net or similar device
		7.3.8 Visual searching and pooting
	7.4 Relative methods: trapping
		7.4.1 Interception traps
		7.4.2 Flight traps combining interception and attraction
		7.4.3 Light and other visual traps
	7.5 Traps that attract animals by some natural stimulus or a substitute
		7.5.1 Shelter traps
		7.5.2 Trap host plants
		7.5.3 Baited traps
		7.5.4 The use of vertebrate hosts or substitutes as bait for insects
	7.6 Using Sound
	References
8 Estimates of Species Richness and Population Size Based on Signs, Products and Effects
	8.1 Arthropod products
		8.1.1 Exuviae
		8.1.2 Frass
	8.2 Vertebrate products and effects
	8.3 Effects due to an individual insect
	8.4 General effects: plant damage
		8.4.1 Criteria
	8.5 Determining the relationship between damage and insect populations
	References
9 Wildlife Population Estimates by Census and Distance Measuring Techniques
	9.1 Census methods
	9.2 Point and line survey methods
		9.2.1 Indices of abundance using transects
		9.2.2 Methods based on flushing
		9.2.3 Line transect methods: the Fourier series estimator
		9.2.4 Point transects
	9.3 Distance sampling software in R
	9.4 Spatial distribution and plotless density estimators
		9.4.1 Closest individual or distance method
		9.4.2 Nearest-neighbour methods
	References
10 Observational and Experimental Methods for the Estimation of Natality, Mortality and Dispersal
	10.1 Natality
		10.1.1 Fertility
		10.1.2 Numbers entering a stage
		10.1.3 The birth-rate from mark and recapture data
	10.2 Mortality
		10.2.1 Total
		10.2.2 The death-rate from mark and recapture data
		10.2.3 Climatic factors
		10.2.4 Biotic factors
		10.2.5 Experimental assessment of natural enemies
	10.3 Dispersal
		10.3.1 Detecting and quantifying jump dispersal
		10.3.2 Quantifying neighbourhood dispersal
	10.4 The measurement and description of home range and territory
		10.4.1 The minimum convex polygon area method for estimating home range
		10.4.2 The kernel estimation method for home range
	10.5 The rate of colonisation of a new habitat and artificial substrates
	10.6 The direction of migration
	References
11 The Construction, Description and Analysis of Age-specific Life-tables
	11.1 Types of life-table and the budget
	11.2 The construction of a budget
	11.3 Analysis of stage-frequency data
		11.3.1 Southwoods graphical method
		11.3.2 Richards & Waloffs first method
		11.3.3 Manlys method
		11.3.4 Ruesinks method
		11.3.5 Dempsters method
		11.3.6 Richards & Waloffs Second Method
		11.3.7 Kiritani, Nakasuji & Manlys method
		11.3.8 Kemptons method
		11.3.9 The Bellows and Birley Method
	11.4 The description of budgets and life-tables
		11.4.1 Survivorship curves
		11.4.2 Stock–recruitment (Moran–Ricker) curves
		11.4.3 The life-table and life expectancy
		11.4.4 Life and fertility tables and the net reproductive rate
		11.4.5 Population growth rates
		11.4.6 The calculation of r
	11.5 The analysis of life-table data
		11.5.1 The comparison of mortality factors within a generation (Table 11.3)
		11.5.2 Survival and life budget analysis
		11.5.3 Sibley's ? contribution analysis
	References
12 Age-grouping, Time-specific Life-tables and Predictive Population Models
	12.1 Age-grouping
	12.2 Aging young by developmental stage
	12.3 Aging by using structures
		12.3.1 Annelids
		12.3.2 Crustaceans
		12.3.3 Insects
		12.3.4 Molluscs
		12.3.5 Fish
		12.3.6 Lampreys
		12.3.7 Reptiles and amphibians
		12.3.8 Birds
		12.3.9 Mammals
	12.4 Time-specific life-tables and survival rates
		12.4.1 Physiological time
		12.4.2 Life-table parameters
		12.4.3 Recruitment in the field
		12.4.4 Empirical models
		12.4.5 Intrinsic rate models and variable life-tables
		12.4.6 Lewis–Leslie matrices and R packages
	References
13 Species Richness, Diversity and Packing
	13.1 Diversity
		13.1.1 Description of ?- and ?-diversity
		13.1.2 Species richness
		13.1.3 Models for the S:N relationship
		13.1.4 Non-parametric indices of diversity
		13.1.5 Which model or index?
		13.1.6 Comparing communities–diversity ordering
		13.1.7 Procedure to determine a-diversity
		13.1.8 Determining b-diversity
	13.2 Similarity and the comparison and classification of samples
		13.2.1 Measures of complementarity
		13.2.2 Similarity indices
		13.2.3 Multivariate analysis
	13.3 Species packing
		13.3.1 Measurement of interspecific association
		13.3.2 Measurement of resource utilisation
		13.3.3 Niche size and competition coefficients
	References
14 The Estimation of Productivity and the Construction of Energy Budgets
	14.1 Estimation of standing crop
		14.1.1 Measurement of biomass
	14.2 Determination of energy density
	14.3 Estimation of energy flow
	14.4 The measurement of production
	14.5 The measurement of feeding and assimilation
		14.5.1 The quality of the food eaten
	14.6 Feeding and assimilation rates
		14.6.1 Radiotracer techniques
		14.6.2 Gravimetric techniques
		14.6.3 Indicator methods
		14.6.4 Measurement of faecal output
	14.7 The measurement of the energy loss due to respiration and metabolic process
		14.7.1 Calorimetric
		14.7.2 The exchange of respiratory gases
		14.7.3 The respiratory rate
	14.8 The energy budget, efficiencies and transfer coefficients
		14.8.1 The energy budget of a population (or trophic level)
		14.8.2 Energy transfer across trophic links
	14.9 Identification of ecological pathways using stable isotopes
	14.10 Assessment of energy and time costs of strategies
	References
15 Studies at Large Spatial, Temporal and Numerical Scales and the Classification of Habitats
	15.1 Remote sensing data from satellites
	15.2 Remote sensing using piloted and unmanned aircraft
	15.3 Long-term studies
		15.3.1 Planning spatial and temporal sampling
		15.3.2 The classification of time series
		15.3.3 Time series analysis
		15.3.4 Detecting synchrony
		15.3.5 Measuring temporal variability
		15.3.6 Detecting break-points
		15.3.7 Determining if a species has become extinct
	15.4 Geographical information systems
	15.5 Detection of density dependence in time series
		15.5.1 Bulmers (1975) test
		15.5.2 Pollard etal.'s (1987) randomisation test
		15.5.3 Dennis and Taper's (1994) bootstrap approach
		15.5.4 Using a battery of approaches to detect density dependence
	15.6 Citizen science projects
	15.7 Ecosystem services
	15.8 Habitat classification
		15.8.1 Qualitative
		15.8.2 Quantitative
	References
Index
Supplemental Images
EULA