Re: Whale survey statistics site
Matt
> As part of a public engagement of science project we have set up a web
> sitewww.whalequest.org.uk
> that explains the statistics behind whale surveys. There is a also a
> chance to win a trip on the IFAW whale survey vessel "Song of the
> Whale"
>
> WHALEQUEST - win a trip on a whale research vessel!
>
> This competition is part of a project funded by the Engineering and
> Physical Sciences Research Council to raise public awareness and
> interest in research done at the University of St Andrews to improve
> methods of assessing wildlife populations. To enter you must be aged
> 16-21 and a UK resident.
>
> We can't just count all the whales in the sea, we have to estimate
> numbers from partial counts. The estimates have uncertainty
> associated with them and this uncertainty can be large. Do some
> estimation for yourself by playing WhaleQuest. Enter the competition
> by submitting your estimate from the game. The better your estimate,
> the higher your chance of winning the prize and going out to survey
> whales yourself.
You need a Macintosh version of the game, although the questions are
fun.
I would think that, in terms of statistics, there's a much more
difficult question out there. If we can't be sure of our counts of
the great whales, which are huge and relatively well studied, how can
we even get a clue about the populations or status of smaller
cetaceans, such as the beaked whales. Heck, we don't even know how
many species there are. (For example, I'm not the expert, but I still
doubt the identification of Mesoplodon Species A as M. peruvianus, and
every cetologist I talked to for my last book "Shadows of Existence:
Discoveries and Speculations in Zoology" thought there were still-
unidentified species at large.) Are there even rough order of
magnitude estimates for the whales of Mesoplodon?
The game is a great idea. Press on!
Matt Bille
Sci/Tech news and comment:
http://mattbille.blogspot.com/