Introduction to Mark-Recapture Census Methods Using the Seed Beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus

 

Alexander E. Olvido and Lawrence S. Blumer

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2005, Volume 26

Abstract

Population size, or the abundance of organisms in a study site, is the most fundamental of the primary demographic statistics. We present a laboratory study that introduces college undergraduates to mark-recapture methods that estimate population size. Students apply a simple mark-recapture method to estimate population size in cultures of a seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus. After completing this study, students not only will have rudimentary knowledge of statistical methods (e.g., standard deviation and 95% confidence limits), but will also know how to obtain reliable estimates of population size.

Keywords:  mark-recapture, Lincolin-Peterson estimate, population estimate, random sampling, confidence interval

Bowling Green State University, Ohio (2004)