Estimation of population sizes for the Jollyville Plateau Salamander (Eurycea tonkawae) using a mark-recapture method
| dc.contributor.advisor | Sarkar, Sahotra | en |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Pullum, Thomas W. | en |
| dc.creator | Luo, Liming, 1976- | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2010-11-29T17:23:14Z | en |
| dc.date.available | 2010-11-29T17:23:14Z | en |
| dc.date.available | 2010-11-29T17:23:21Z | en |
| dc.date.issued | 2010-05 | en |
| dc.date.submitted | May 2010 | en |
| dc.date.updated | 2010-11-29T17:23:21Z | en |
| dc.description | text | en |
| dc.description.abstract | The Jollyville Plateau Salamander (JPS), Eurycea tonkawae, is a species of salamander endemic to Texas, the United States. It is a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. This report assesses the JPS population abundances at Lanier Spring, Long Hollow Creek at Wheless Spring, and Ribelin Spring in Austin using a mark-recapture method. The maximum likelihood estimation method was used to obtain the population size estimates under two models, the M₀ model and the M[subscript t] model. The M₀ model assumes that every animal has the same capture probability in the population for each sampling period while the M[subscript t] model allows capture probabilities to vary by time. Simulations were performed by using an MCMC algorithm based on the M₀ model. Between 2007 and 2009, the population size estimates for JPS (>16mm snout-vent length, (SVL)) at Lanier Spring varied between 86 and 554 under the M₀ model, between 80 and 549 under the M[subscript t] model, and between 76 and 564 using MCMC simulations. During 2007 monitoring periods, the population size estimates for JPS (>16mm SVL) at Ribelin Spring varied between 105 and 236 under the M₀ model, between 104 and 196 under the M[subscript t] model, and between 105 and 265 using MCMC simulations. During 2007 and 2008 monitoring periods, the population size estimates for JPS (>16mm SVL) at Wheless Spring varied between 368 and 1087 under the M₀ model, between 339 and 1075 under the M[subscript t] model, and between 411 and 1098 using MCMC simulations. Different estimation methods yielded consistent estimates. No clear population trends were detected due to the big fluctuations in estimates in this study. | en |
| dc.description.department | Mathematics | en |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2010-05-1299 | en |
| dc.language.iso | eng | en |
| dc.subject | Jollyville Plateau Salamander | en |
| dc.subject | Population size | en |
| dc.subject | Mark-recapture method | en |
| dc.subject | Austin, Texas | en |
| dc.subject | Eurycea tonkawae | en |
| dc.title | Estimation of population sizes for the Jollyville Plateau Salamander (Eurycea tonkawae) using a mark-recapture method | en |
| dc.type.genre | thesis | en |
| thesis.degree.department | Mathematics | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Statistics | en |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Texas at Austin | en |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | en |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science in Statistics | en |