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

 

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)