Virtual population analysis (VPA) is a widely used model for the analysis of fished populations. While there are many VPA techniques, they vary in the way they use data and fit the model rather than in the form of the model itself. This manual describes the common VPA model and the assumptions on which it is based, together with descriptions of associated diagnostic procedures and common reference points
This book really began in 1980 with our first microcomputer, an Apple II +. The great value of the Apple II + was that we could take the computer programs we had been building on mainframe and mini-computers, and make them available to the many fisheries biologists who also had Apple II + 's. About 6 months after we got our first Apple, John Glaister came through Vancouver and saw what we were doing and realized that his agency (New South Wales State Fisheries) had the same equipment and could run the same programs. John organized a training course in Australia where we showed about 25 Australian fisheries biologists how to use microcomputers to do many standard fisheries analyses. In the process of organizing this and sub sequent courses we developed a series of lecture notes. Over the last 10 years these notes have evolved into the chapters of this book.
Wildlife Demography compiles the multitude of available estimation techniques based on sex and age data, and presents these varying techniques in one organized, unified volume. Designed to guide researchers to the most appropriate estimator based upon their particular data set and the desired level of study precision, this book provides quantitative consideration, statistical models, estimator variance, assumptions and examples of use. The authors focus on estimation techniques using sex and age ratios because this data is relatively easy to collect and commonly used by wildlife management. - Applicable to a wide array of wildlife species, including game and non-game birds and mammals - Features more than 100 annotated examples illustrating application of statistical methods - Includes more than 640 references of the analysis of nontagging data and the factors that may influence interpretation - Derives historical and ad hoc demographic methods in a modern statistical framework
Ocean harvests have plateaued worldwide and many important commercial stocks have been depleted. This has caused great concern among scientists, fishery managers, the fishing community, and the public. This book evaluates the major models used for estimating the size and structure of marine fish populations (stock assessments) and changes in populations over time. It demonstrates how problems that may occur in fisheries dataâ€"for example underreporting or changes in the likelihood that fish can be caught with a given type of gearâ€"can seriously degrade the quality of stock assessments. The volume makes recommendations for means to improve stock assessments and their use in fishery management.
Bayesian statistics has exploded into biology and its sub-disciplines, such as ecology, over the past decade. The free software program WinBUGS, and its open-source sister OpenBugs, is currently the only flexible and general-purpose program available with which the average ecologist can conduct standard and non-standard Bayesian statistics. Comprehensive and richly commented examples illustrate a wide range of models that are most relevant to the research of a modern population ecologist All WinBUGS/OpenBUGS analyses are completely integrated in software R Includes complete documentation of all R and WinBUGS code required to conduct analyses and shows all the necessary steps from having the data in a text file out of Excel to interpreting and processing the output from WinBUGS in R
Stock Identification Methods, 2e, continues to provide a comprehensive review of the various disciplines used to study the population structure of fishery resources. It represents the worldwide experience and perspectives of experts on each method, assembled through a working group of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. The book is organized to foster interdisciplinary analyses and conclusions about stock structure, a crucial topic for fishery science and management. Technological advances have promoted the development of stock identification methods in many directions, resulting in a confusing variety of approaches. Based on central tenets of population biology and management needs, this valuable resource offers a unified framework for understanding stock structure by promoting an understanding of the relative merits and sensitivities of each approach. - Describes 18 distinct approaches to stock identification grouped into sections on life history traits, environmental signals, genetic analyses, and applied marks - Features experts' reviews of benchmark case studies, general protocols, and the strengths and weaknesses of each identification method - Reviews statistical techniques for exploring stock patterns, testing for differences among putative stocks, stock discrimination, and stock composition analysis - Focuses on the challenges of interpreting data and managing mixed-stock fisheries
Advances in Cephalopod Science: Biology, Ecology, Cultivation and Fisheries—volume 67 in the Advances in Marine Biology series—addresses major themes of growing research interest in the field of cephalopod research. The book is composed of four chapters incorporating the latest advances in biology, ecology, life cycles, cultivation, and fisheries of cephalopods. Each chapter is written by a team of internationally recognized authorities to reflect recent findings and understanding. The book represents a breakthrough contribution to the field of cephalopod science. Advances in Marine Biology was first published in 1963 under the founding editorship of Sir Frederick S. Russell, FRS. Now edited by Michael P. Lesser, with an internationally renowned editorial board, the serial publishes in-depth and up-to-date reviews on a wide range of topics that appeal to postgraduates and researchers in marine biology, fisheries science, ecology, zoology, and biological oceanography. Eclectic volumes in the series are supplemented by thematic volumes on such topics as the biology of calanoid copepods. - Covers cephalopod culture - Covers environmental effects on cephalopod population dynamics - Covers biology, ecology and biodiversity of deep-sea cephalopods - Covers life stage transitions in successful cephalopod life strategies
Wide-Ranging Coverage of Parametric Modeling in Linear and Nonlinear Mixed Effects ModelsMixed Effects Models for the Population Approach: Models, Tasks, Methods and Tools presents a rigorous framework for describing, implementing, and using mixed effects models. With these models, readers can perform parameter estimation and modeling across a whol
