A hierarchical population model for the estimation of latent prey abundance and demographic rates of a nomadic predator

Linking the demographic parameters underlying population change to environmental conditions is a central goal of population demography. However, multicollinearity among processes in ecological studies can complicate parameter estimation and inference. We sought to demonstrate the use of structural equation modelling, a technique for estimating hypothesized causal pathways among collinear observed and unobserved variables, in the context of integrated population models. We monitored a population of Tengmalm's owls (Aegolius funereus) breeding in the Jura Mountains of northwestern Switzerland and eastern France for 31 years (1990-2020) and collected data on captured prey items. We use concepts central to structural equation models (i.e., latent variables) and integrated population models to estimate the effects of latent prey abundance on Tengmalm's owl demographic parameters. We observed strong positive effects of latent prey abundance during time t on clutch size, fledging probability, ..., See the manuscript (Riecke et al. 2025, Ecological Modelling) and other cited research within for full details of data collection., , # Data from: A hierarchical population model for the estimation of latent prey abundance and demographic rates of a nomadic predator

Dataset DOI: [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0rxwdbsbv](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0rxwdbsbv)

## Description of the data and file structure

### Files and variables

#### **File: input.RData**

**Description:** These are the input data used to run the model that estimates Tengmalm's owl demographic parameters and abundance. Brief descriptions of 

ch: capture-history

marr.a: a multinomial array (marr) used to summarize adult (a) capture-recapture data

marr.j: a multinomial array used to summarize juvenile (j) capture-recapture data 

band: list of unique marks (rings) applied to birds)

brood.age: a covariate for reproductive success (and clutch size) denoting whether each brood was tended by an SY (first-time breeder) or ASY (adult) female

brood.year: denotes which year each brood was hatched in (brood year == 1 denotes the year 1990)

c: clutch si...,