Theory and applications

Fundamental concepts of density estimation of unmarked animals using Distance sampling

Discover how sightings from line transects or point counts can be used to estimate population size and what determines it

Table of contents

Textbook

We recommend Buckland et al’s 1993 book Distance sampling: Estimating abundance of biological populations to give you a firm foundational understanding of the theory behind distance sampling

The book is quite old, but the key ideas are described clearly, and the fundamental theory remains the same

Our reference for this Theory course is the first chapter, which you can download here:

Buckland et al 2001

If you are able to access the more recent 2001 edition, pictured below, feel free to refer to that instead

Buckland ST, Anderson DR, Burnham KP, Laake JL, Borchers DL & Thomas L (2001) Introduction to distance sampling: Estimating abundance of biological populations OUP, Oxford, UK