An Integrated Population Model From Constant Effort Bird-Ringing Data

Abstract

Data from annual bird-ringing programs, in which catch effort is standardized, are routinely used to index abundance, productivity, and adult survival. Efficient models have been developed for each. Such monitoring schemes, based on ringing across a number of sites, are perhaps unique in providing this combination of demographic information and make the data particularly amenable to an integrated approach to population modeling. We develop a Bayesian approach and a deterministic population model uniting abundance, productivity, and survival. The method is applied to sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus data from the British Trust for Ornithology’s Constant Effort Sites scheme. The possibility of “transient” birds needs to be incorporated within this analysis. We demonstrate how current methodology can efficiently be extended to use additional data from multiple within year recaptures when controlling for transience. Supplemental materials for this article are available online.