Population Ecology

AP Biology· difficulty 3/5

A student estimates the size of a fish population in a small pond using mark-recapture. On day 1, 80 fish are captured, marked with a fin clip, and released. On day 7, 100 fish are captured; 16 of these are marked. The student uses the Lincoln-Petersen estimator: N = (M x C) / R.

Pond schematic red = marked, dark = unmarked M=80 marked Day 1 C=100 caught Day 7; R=16 marked

What is the estimated population size?

  • A

    500

    check_circle
  • B

    16

  • C

    1000

  • D

    200

Explanation

N = (M x C) / R = (80 x 100) / 16 = 8000 / 16 = 500 fish.

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