Modeling Abundance Index Data from Anuran Calling Surveys

Abstract:  Evaluation of anuran populations is commonly based on calling surveys that report categorical abundance index data. I present a statistical model for abundance index data that are observations representing ordered abundance classes (e.g., none, some, many). The proposed model provides a formal treatment of detection probability, factors that affect detection, and variation in abundance. The model can be viewed as a generalization of that proposed by MacKenzie et al. (2002) for estimating site-occupancy rates in that it allows for more than two abundance classes. Because the abundance distribution is characterized by multiple abundance classes, it may be more sensitive to subtle changes in the underlying abundance that may go undetected with simple occupancy estimates under which sites are characterized merely as occupied or not. The method is most immediately applicable to surveys of anurans in which index data related to the intensity of calling activity are collected. I applied the proposed method to calling index data from the green frog (  Rana clamitans ) collected as part of the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program. The best model indicated considerable variation in detectability over time and in response to temperature. The resulting adjusted (for detectability) abundance-state distribution demonstrates the negative bias in abundance state obtained from simplistic summaries of calling index data that disregard these sources of variation in detectability.