A comparison of survey method efficiencies for estimating densities of zebra mussels ( Dreissena polymorpha )

PeerJ

article

Jake M. Ferguson¹  Laura Jiménez¹  Aislyn A. Keyes⁴  Austen Hilding³  Michael A. McCartney³  Katherine St. Clair⁵  Douglas H. Johnson²  John R. Fieberg² 

[1] School of Life Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa;Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Campus;Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center, University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Campus;Department of Ecology and Evoluationary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder;Department of Mathematics, Carleton College

关键词: Abundance estimation;    Aquatic invasive species;    Detection probability;    Distance-removal survey;    Quadrat survey;    Removal survey;    Underwater visual survey;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.15528

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Abundance surveys are commonly used to estimate plant or animal densities and frequently require estimating detection probabilities to account for imperfect detection. The estimation of detection probabilities requires additional measurements that take time, potentially reducing the efficiency of the survey when applied to high-density populations. We conducted quadrat, removal, and distance surveys of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in three central Minnesota lakes and determined how much survey effort would be required to achieve a pre-specified level of precision for each abundance estimator, allowing us to directly compare survey design efficiencies across a range of conditions. We found that the required sampling effort needed to achieve our precision goal depended on both the survey design and population density. At low densities, survey designs that could cover large areas but with lower detection probabilities, such as distance surveys, were more efficient (i.e., required less sampling effort to achieve the same level of precision). However, at high densities, quadrat surveys, which tend to cover less area but with high detection rates, were more efficient. These results demonstrate that the best survey design is likely to be context-specific, requiring some prior knowledge of the underlying population density and the cost/time needed to collect additional information for estimating detection probabilities.

【 授权许可】

CC BY