Although wildlife biologists need reliable estimates of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) density to facilitate management, few studies have examined distance sampling as a density estimation technique for this species. We compared direct (i.e., spotlighting from road transects) and indirect (i.e., counting pellets on randomly placed transects) distance-sampling techniques for estimati...

Previous work on sample design has been focused on constructing designs for samples taken at point locations. Significantly less work has been done on sample design for data collected along transects. A review of approaches to point and transect sampling design shows that transects can be considered as a sequential set of point samples. Any two sampling designs can be compared through using eac...

In line transect sampling, data are collected continuously along the path travelled. These data are then used to estimate some characteristic of an entire region. We model the characteristic of the region as a linear functional of Z(), a realization of a random eld, and our data as the values of Z(x) for x along the path. We study how to estimate the characteristic of interest and how to choose...

A system to make atmospheric measurements from a moving trolley suspended by a stretched cable has been developed. At present, these measurements consist of wind velocity, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration, though other sensors may be added. The track consists of cable segments attached to turns mounted on standard triangular towers. Using this approach, the path can be a ...

Studies of species diversity patterns across regional environmental gradients seldom consider the impact of habitat type on within-site (alpha) and between-site (beta) diversity. This study is designed to identify the influence of habitat type across geographic and environmental space, on local patterns of species richness and regional turnover patterns of ant diversity in the northeastern Unit...

Phenological patterns have a great influence on community ecology. I have quantified fruit abundance using fruit traps, phenological transects, and observations on marked trees of selected species. All methods showed the main peaks of fleshy fruit production between the dry period and the middle of the rainy season. Wind, water, and mechanically dispersed seeds showed a peak of production at th...