Combining data-derived priors with postrelease monitoring data to predict persistence of reintroduced populations.

ABSTRACT: Monitoring is an essential part of reintroduction programs, but many years of data may be needed to obtain reliable population projections. This duration can potentially be reduced by incorporating prior information on expected vital rates (survival and fecundity) when making inferences from monitoring data. The prior distributions for these parameters can be derived from data for previous reintroductions, but it is important to account for site-to-site variation. We evaluated whether such informative priors improved our ability to estimate the finite rate of increase (λ) of the North Island robin (Petroica longipes) population reintroduced to Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand. We assessed how precision improved with each year of postrelease data added, comparing models that use

SUBMITTER: Drummond FM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6024125 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature