Precision of the Change-in-Ratio Technique for Deer Population Management
Conner MC, Lancia RA, Pollock KH. 1986. Precision of the Change-in-Ratio Technique for Deer Population Management. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 50(1):125-129
Utility of the change-in-ratio (CIR) technique for estimating abundance of deer (Odocoileus spp.) populations was investigated by calculating the sample size requirements (n1=prehunt and n2=posthunt) for 3 levels of accuracy (std dev= .1, .25, and .5) and alpha = .05 and by applying the technique to the deer population at Remington Farms, Maryland. The calculations indicated that a sample size of n=1,600 was required to estimate abundances of deer populations with a skewed sex ratio (prehunt proportion of antlered bucks [P1] = .1) with standard deviation of .25. If only antlerless deer were removed from a population with a similar sex ratio and a large change in the ratio (change in P=.2) was achieved. N1 could be estimated from standard deviation =.25 and n=325. Application of the technique at Remington Farms indicated that the sample sizes could be achieved for relatively high density herds in open habitat. Biases associated with applying the CIR to deer populations are discussed.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Conner, Mark; Lancia, Richard; Pollock, Kenneth
- Units
- SFCN
- Keywords
- Antlerless Deer, estimation, Odocoileus spp., Remington Farms, Skewed Sex ratio