Monitoring Plant and Animal Populations

Monitoring Plant and Animal Populations offers an overview of population monitoring issues that is accessible to the typical field biologist and land managers with a modest statistical background.

The text includes concrete guidelines for ecologists to follow to design a statistically defensible monitoring program.

• User-friendly, practical guide, written in a highly readable format.
• The authors provide an interdisciplinary scope to address the current, widespread interest in monitoring in many environmental fields, including pure and applied ecology, conservation biology, and wildlife management.
• Emphasizes the role of monitoring in adaptive management.
• Defines important terminology and contrasts monitoring with other data-collection activities. Covers the applicable principles of sampling and shows how to design a monitoring project.
• Provides a step-by-step overview of the monitoring process, illustrated by flow charts and references. The authors also offer guidelines for analyzing and interpreting monitoring data.
• Illustrates the foundation of management objectives and describes their components, types, and development.
• Describes common field techniques for measuring important attributes of animal and plant populations.
• Reviews different methods for recording monitoring data in the field, managing the data, and communicating data to policy makers.

Preface vii

Chapter 1 Introduction to Monitoring 1

Chapter 2 Monitoring Overview 11

Chapter 3 Selecting Among Priorities 21

Chapter 4 Qualitative Techniques For Monitoring 37

Chapter 5 General Field Techniques 49

Chapter 6 Data Collection and Data Management 65

Chapter 7 Basic Principles of Sampling 75

Chapter 8 Sampling Design 101

Chapter 9 Statistical Analysis 149

Chapter 10 Analysis of Trends 185

Chapter 11 Selecting Random Samples 195

Chapter 12 Field Techniques For Measuring Vegetation 205

Chapter 13 Specialized Sampling Methods and Field Techniques For Animals 231

Chapter 14 Objectives 247

Chapter 15 Communication and Monitoring Plans 271

Appendix I: Monitoring Communities 283

Appendix II: Sample Size Equations 299

Appendix III: Confidence Interval Equations 319

Appendix IV: Sample Size and Confidence Intervals For Complex Sampling Designs 329

Literature Cited 339

Index 353

"A handbook to help field biologists and land managers cope with monitoring is a worthwhile product." Professor Michael McGowan, San Francisco State University

"Such a text could easily form the basis for undergraduate and graduate courses in institutions having programs which include wildlife, fisheries, ecology, or conservation biology. It would also be important reading for state and federal agency personnel and all those biologists involved in the ecological consulting field." Professor Gary Vinyard, University of Nevada at Reno

"One of the most intractable problems facing ecologists and conservationists conducting manipulative experiments on ecosystems is monitoring the outcome. Without such monitoring the experiments, of course, are worthless, so careful considerations of experimental design and recording techniques prior to the establishment of the manipulations are always worthwhile, and it is here that this practical manual seeks to exist." Bulletin of the British Ecological Society, 2002

Caryl L. Elzinga and Daniel W. Salzer are the authors of Monitoring Plant and Animal Populations: A Handbook for Field Biologists, published by Wiley.

Monitoring Plant and Animal Populations is a thorough overview of monitoring issues. It is designed for field biologists and land managers with a modest statistical background. The authors have written a practical text that will include concrete guidelines for ecologists to follow to design a statistically defensible monitoring program for natural populations and communities.

Features

• User-friendly, practical guide, written in a highly readable format which integrates the theme of decision making guidance and management.
• Only population monitoring text to focus on both plant and animals.
• Interdisciplinary in scope, given the current, widespread interest in monitoring in many environmental fields including pure and applied ecology, conservation biology, and wildlife management.
• Includes suggestions for monitoring plant and animal communities.
• Outlines the essential concepts in monitoring populations.
• Emphasizes the role o monitoring in adaptive management.
• Defines important terminology and contrasts monitoring with other data-collection activities.
• Provides a step-by-step overview of the monitoring process, as illustrated by flow charts and references.
• Illustrates the foundation of management objectives and describes their components, types, and development.
• Describes basic terms and concepts relevant to sampling using simple examples.
• Explains how to make basic decisions in designing a sample-based monitoring study.
• Provides field techniques for measuring important attributes of animal and plant populations.
• Covers different ways of recording monitoring data in the field and describes means for entering and managing field monitoring data sets with computers.
• Comprehensive presentation of statistical analysis and communicating results.