Ecologists use a method of studying a particular population of animal within a community called "mark and recapture." A researcher captures, marks, and releases 40 red fox into a large community.He then collects 100 different red fox over the next year.If the recapture rate is 10%, what is a reasonable estimate of the red fox population size?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The mark and recapture method assumes that the proportion of marked individuals recaptured in a sample is representative of the proportion of marked individuals in the entire population.

If 10% of the recaptured animals are marked, then we can set up the following proportion:

(Number of marked animals captured initially) / (Total population) = (Number of marked animals recaptured) / (Number of animals recaptured)

Plugging in the values given:

40 / P = 10 / 100

Solving for P, we get:

P = 400

Therefore, the best estimate of the red fox population size is 400.

Ecologists Use a Method of Studying a Particular Population of Animal