Below I am going to give you several "scenarios" in which I describe the organism, study area/ experimental situation, and objectives (what is it we are trying to estimate, test , predict). For each I would like you to suggest:
Which method or method(s) considered to date are or could be appropriate for addressing the problem. Note: in most cases more than one method will work but not all methods are equally useful in terms of accuracy, efficiency, or robustness and you should indicate this in your evaluation.
The data structure needed to address the problem
Outline how you would go about setting up the analys(is/es) to address the questions
What additional information do you need, and/or how would you change the design to adequately solve the problem?
Scenarios
The organism is nocturnal and cryptic but is readily captured. It has fairly well defined, small home ranges (typically a movement radius of <100m per night) , has low mortality rates and reproduction confined to a few weeks per year. Objective is to estimate density on a single, 100-ha study area.
Organism is a diurnal and relatively conspicuous, gregarious ungulate that resided is open habitats. It may be captured and marked with ear tags or collars, but recapture is difficult and expensive. Ability to visually detect individuals is correlated both with background habitat features and group size. Objective: estimate abundance / density and compare density in high and low quality habitat types.
The organism is nocturnal and cryptic and readily captured but has somewhat loosely-defined and large home ranges (movement radius of up to 1000m per night) , but has low mortality rates and reproduction confined to a few weeks per year. Objective is to estimate density on a single, 500-ha study area.
Animal is a large nocturnal predator that is difficult (and dangerous) to physically capture, but individuals may be uniquely identified via distinct markings. Very large home range sizes (up to several km movement in one night) and low densities (1-2 /km2). Objective is to estimate abundance on 2 100 km2 reserves separated by 50 km of unsuitable habitat.
Animal is nocturnal, solitary, and cryptic, cannot be readily captured or visually identified, but males emits distinct calls when temperatures are between 10 and 15 C. Objective is to estimate site occupancy ( and if possible density) and the relationship of these variables to land use and land cover type on a 100 ha study area, and to use predict models to make management recommendations for other management areas.