Estimating latent individual demographic heterogeneity using structural equation models

Understanding the drivers of fitness is a key goal of population and evolutionary ecology. However, measuring individual variation in demographic components in imperfectly observed populations of wild organisms is extremely challenging. Recent research has demonstrated that estimates of fixed individual variation in Bernoulli variables (e.g., survival, breeding propensity) are often unreliable in the face of imperfect detection and small sample sizes. Thus, we demonstrate the use of structural equation modeling approaches to simultaneously estimate latent variation in demographic performance, and link said variation to individual demographic components. We demonstrate the use of this approach with 30+ year capture-recapture datasets collected on two passerine species (White-throated dipper, Cinclus cinclus, and Pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca), and pied flycatcher, \textit{Ficedula hypoleuca}), and simultaneously estimate latent variation in individual quality and age-specific varia..., , # Data from: Estimating latent individual demographic heterogeneity using structural equation models

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.jm63xsjp5](10.5061/dryad.jm63xsjp5)

## Description of the data and file structure

The data (dipper*_*Data.RData & flycatcher*_*Data.RData) were collected during long-term capture-mark-recapture and nest-monitoring efforts near Zurich (dipper) and Baulmes (flycatcher), Switzerland. Researchers monitored 1,001 breeding attempts by 588 uniquely marked female pied flycatchers (290 of unknown age) that produced 476 recruits, and 1,322 breeding attempts by 674 uniquely marked female dippers (354 of unknown age) that produced 865 recruits.

### Files and variables

#### File: cjs\_MVN\_gamma.stan

**Description:** This is a Stan model that analyzes the data created by the script Gamma_Stan_Simulation_CJS.R using a bivariate normal parameterization.

#### File: cjs\_SEM\_gamma.stan

**Description:** This is a Stan model that analyzes the data created by the script ...,