Journal of Applied Mathematics and Decision Sciences
Volume 6 (2002), Issue 4, Pages 213-228
doi:10.1155/S1173912602000159
Estimating a resource selection function with line transect sampling
Western EcoSystems Technology Inc. 2003 Central Avenue, Cheyenne 82001, Wyoming, USA
Copyright © 2002 Bryan F. J. Manly. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
A resource selection probability function is a function that gives the prob-
ability that a resource unit (e.g., a plot of land) that is described by a set of habitat
variables X1 to Xp will be used by an animal or group of animals in a certain period of
time. The estimation of a resource selection function is usually based on the comparison
of a sample of resource units used by an animal with a sample of the resource units
that were available for use, with both samples being assumed to be effectively randomly
selected from the relevant populations. In this paper the possibility of using a modified
sampling scheme is examined, with the used units obtained by line transect sampling. A
logistic regression type of model is proposed, with estimation by conditional maximum
likelihood. A simulation study indicates that the proposed method should be useful in
practice.