DENSITY-ESTIMATION USING THE TRAPPING WEB DESIGN - A GEOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Population densities for small mammal and arthropod populations can be estimated using capture frequencies for a web of traps. Anderson et al. (1983, Ecology 64, 674-680) adapted the point transect methodology to the analysis of such data. This paper proposes a conceptually simple geometric analysis that avoids the need to estimate a point on a density function. The new analysis has the advantage of incorporating data from the outermost rings of traps, explaining large capture frequencies in these rings rather than truncating them from the analysis.