Using dynamic N-mixture models to test cavity limitation on northern flying squirrel demographic parameters using experimental nest box supplementation.

1. Dynamic N-mixture models have been recently developed to estimate demographic parameters of unmarked individuals while accounting for imperfect detection. 2. We propose an application of the Dail and Madsen (2011: Biometrics, 67, 577-587) dynamic N-mixture model in a manipulative experiment using a before-after control-impact design (BACI). Specifically, we tested the hypothesis of cavity limitation of a cavity specialist species, the northern flying squirrel, using nest box supplementation on half of 56 trapping sites. Our main purpose was to evaluate the impact of an increase in cavity availability on flying squirrel population dynamics in deciduous stands in northwestern Québec with the dynamic N-mixture model. We compared abundance estimates from this recent approach with those from classic capture-mark-recapture models and generalized linear models. We compared apparent survival estimates with those from Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) models. 3. Average recruitment rate was 6 individ...1. 动态N混合模型（Dynamic N-mixture models）近年被提出，用于在考虑不完全检测的前提下，估算未标记个体的种群参数。2. 我们将戴尔与马德森（2011：《生物统计学》，第67卷，577-587页）提出的动态N混合模型，应用于一项采用前后对照影响实验设计（before-after control-impact design，BACI）的操控性实验。具体而言，我们在56个诱捕位点中的半数位点开展巢箱补充，以此检验树洞特化物种——北方飞鼠的树洞限制假说。本研究的核心目标是借助动态N混合模型，评估魁北克西北部落叶林分中树洞可获得性提升对飞鼠种群动态的影响。我们将该新兴方法得到的种群丰度估计值，与经典标记重捕模型、广义线性模型的丰度估计值进行对比；同时将表观存活率估计值与科马克-乔利-西尔伯（Cormack-Jolly-Seber，CJS）模型的结果进行比较。3. 平均种群补充率为6个个体……