Fitting Population Models to Multiple Sources of Observed Data Author(s): Gary C. White and Bruce C. Lubow Reviewed work(s): Source: The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 66, No. 2 (Apr., 2002), pp. 300-309 Published by: Allen Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3803162 . Accessed: 07/05/2012 19:10 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Allen Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Wildlife Management. http://www.jstor.org FITTINGPOPULATION MODELS TO MULTIPLESOURCES OF OBSERVEDDATA GARYC. WHITE,'Department of Fisheryand WildlifeBiology, Colorado State University,Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA BRUCEC. LUBOW,Colorado Cooperative Fish and WildlifeUnit, Colorado State University,Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA Abstract:The use of populationmodels based on severalsources of data to set harvestlevels is a standardproce- dure most westernstates use for managementof mule deer (Odocoileushemionus), elk (Cervuselaphus), and other game populations.We present a model-fittingprocedure to estimatemodel parametersfrom multiplesources of observeddata using weighted least squares and model selectionbased on Akaike'sInformation Criterion. The pro- cedure is relativelysimple to implementwith modernspreadsheet software. We illustratesuch an implementation using an examplemule deer population.Typical data requiredinclude age and sex ratios,antlered and antlerless harvest,and populationsize.