Albion College Mathematics and Computer Science Colloquium


Title: Estimating Population Size using Capture-Recapture Data
Speaker:Paul Anderson
Dr. Paul Anderson
Mathematics and Computer Science
Albion College
Albion, Michigan
Abstract: Capture-recapture is a sampling design that is used to estimate the size of animal populations in a wilderness. A random sample of $M$ animals is captured, and the animals are tagged and released. At a later time, another random sample of $n$ animals will be recaptured and the number of tagged animals $X$ is recorded.

Given values of $M$, $n$, and $X$, we will estimate the population size $N$ using the hypergeometric probability distribution. We will then be able to approximate the hypergeometric distribution with the normal distribution. From the normal distribution, we derive a third-degree polynomial that provides a confidence interval for the unknown $N$.

To illustrate our method, we will break into groups. Each group will estimate the number of black beans in a bowl. The estimate will be in the form of a confidence interval.
Location: Palenske 227
Date:2/29/2024
Time: 3:30 PM 


@abstract{MCS:Colloquium:PaulAnderson:2024:2:29,
author  = "{Paul Anderson}",
title   = "{Estimating Population Size using Capture-Recapture Data}",
address = "{Albion College Mathematics and Computer Science Colloquium}",
month   = "{29 February}",
year    = "{2024}"
}