Capture–Recapture Experiments

This chapter deals with a special case of survey models. Surveys are used in many settings to evaluate some features of a given population, including its main characteristic; that is, the size of the population. In the case of capture–recapture surveys, individuals are observed either once or several times and the repeated observations can be used to draw inference on the population size and its dynamic characteristics. Along with the original model, we will also introduce extensions that are a first entry into hidden Markov chain models, detailed further in Chapter 6. In particular, we cover the generic Arnason–Schwarz model that is customarily used for open populations.

On the methodological side, we provide an entry into the accept–reject method, which is the central simulation technique behind most standard random generators and relates to the Metropolis–Hastings methodology in many ways.