Capture–Recapture Population Estimation

In a closed equally catchable population, capture-recapture estimation involves taking a first sample, marking the individuals, and then taking a second sample later. The overlap between the two samples can be used to estimate the total unknown population size.

Experiment

Follow these steps to observe the behavior of the estimators and the likelihood function:

1. Select a value for Marked first.
2. Select a value for Second sample.
3. Select a value for Recaptured. Notice that if you select 0 recaptures, the Petersen estimate is undefined (or infinite), but the Chapman statistic remains finite.
4. Select a Candidate population to evaluate its hypergeometric likelihood. The plot shows the full likelihood distribution for populations starting from the observed union size.
5. Capture–Recapture Population Estimation module