Population viability in pit-tagged Hazel dormouse

摘要: BackgroundIn a conservation management and monitoring context, measuring population size and how it changes over time is very important. This is challenging if the focal species is cryptic or shy. The success of such population monitoring depends on both ecological and observation variation, as well as the study design.Capture-mark-recapture (CMR) is a robust method to study size and change in populations. Modern analysis methods of CMR data can be informative, but there can be restrictive assumptions associated with traditional approaches (linear models). A computational modelling approach, integrated population modelling (IPM), aims to combine modern CMR data analysis with accessory information such as nest and juvenile counts in order to increase the accuracy of population estimates and to glean information from data that otherwise might not be used. The IPM approach emphasizes Bayesian modelling of population parameters, resulting in improved accuracy and precision of estimating population parameters compared to parametric or “non-integrated” modelling.