Bayesian analysis of Jolly-Seber type models; Incorporating heterogeneity in arrival and departure

Matechou, Eleni and Nicholls, Geoff K. and Morgan, Byron J. T. and Collazo, Jaime A. and Lyons, James E. (2016) Bayesian analysis of Jolly-Seber type models; Incorporating heterogeneity in arrival and departure. Environmental and Ecological Statistics, . pp. 1-17. ISSN 1352-8505. (doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10651-016-0352-0) (Full text available)

Abstract

We propose the use of finite mixtures of continuous distributions in modelling the process by which new individuals, that arrive in groups, become part of a wildlife population. We demonstrate this approach using a data set of migrating semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pussila) for which we extend existing stopover models to allow for individuals to have different behaviour in terms of their stopover duration at the site. We demonstrate the use of reversible jump MCMC methods to derive posterior distributions for the model parameters and the models, simultaneously. The algorithm moves between models with different numbers of arrival groups as well as between models with different numbers of behavioural groups. The approach is shown to provide new ecological insights about the stopover behaviour of semipalmated sandpipers but is generally applicable to any population in which animals arrive in groups and potentially exhibit heterogeneity in terms of one or more other processes.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled keywords:	Capture-recapture-resight data sets · Integrated modelling · Mixture models · Reversible jump · Semipalmated sandpipers · Stopover data
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science) > QA276 Mathematical statistics
Divisions:	Faculties > Sciences > School of Mathematics Statistics and Actuarial Science > Statistics
Depositing User:	Eleni Matechou
Date Deposited:	08 Aug 2016 09:03 UTC
Last Modified:	08 Sep 2016 11:03 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/56762 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)