Miller et al. (2005) assert that the estimate of White et al. (2005) of 1.94% of eastern Colorado being occupied by black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) was biased high. The subsequent surveys conducted by Miller et al. (2005) do not provide a valid bias correction for the estimate of White et al. (2005) because 1) their survey protocol could only result in estimating a negative bias, with no possibility of estimating a positive bias; 2) their nonrandom selection of intercepts did not provide valid inferences to the sampling frame used in White et al. (2005); 3) evidence suggests that they did not survey the same aerial tracks as surveyed by White et al. (2005); and 4) their surveys were conducted 2 years after the original surveys, thus not comparable given the temporal dynamics in prairie dog colonies.
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1 December 2005
Head to Head
Gary C. White,
James R. Dennis,
Frances M. Pusateri
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aerial surveys
black-tailed prairie dog
Cynomys ludovicianus
line intercept sampling
monitoring
optimal allocation