This software was developed to enable estimation of the Proportion of Area Occupied (PAO), or similarly the probability that a site is occupied, by a species of interest according to the model presented by MacKenzie et al. (2002) 1.
Typically, species are not guaranteed to be detected even when present at a site, hence the naïve estimate of PAO given by:
# sites where species detected PAO = -------------------------------- total # sites surveyed
will underestimate the true PAO. MacKenzie et al. (2002) propose that by repeated surveying of the sites, the probability of detecting the species can by estimated which then enables unbiased estimation of PAO. This model has been extended by MacKenzie et al. (2003)2 that also enables estimation of colonization and local extinction probabilities. These models are briefly discussed here.
The Basic Sampling Scheme
N sites are surveyed over time where the intent is to establish the
presence or absence of a species. The sites may constitute a naturally
occurring sampling unit such as a discrete pond or patch of vegetation; a
monitoring station; or a quadrat chosen from a predefined area of interest.
The occupancy state of sites may change over time, however during the study
there are periods when it is reasonable to assume that, for all sites, no
changes are occurring, (e.g, within a single breeding season for migratory
birds). The study therefore comprises of K primary sampling periods (seasons),
between which changes in the occupancy state of sites may occur. Within each
season, investigators use an appropriate technique to detect the species at
kj
surveys of each site.
The species may or may not be detected during a survey and is not falsely detected when absent (except false-positive model). The resulting detection history for each site may be expressed as T vectors of 1's and 0's, indicating detection and nondetection of the species respectively. We denote the detection history for site i at primary sampling period j as Xi,j, and the complete detection history for site i, over all primary periods, as Xi. The single season model results when K=1, and the multiple season model for K>1.
MacKenzie et al. (2002)1 present a model for estimating the site occupancy probability (or PAO) for a target species, in situations where the species is not guaranteed to be detected even when present at a site. Let ψ be the probability a site is occupied and p[j] be the probability of detecting the species in the jth survey, given it is present at the site. They use a probabilistic argument to describe the observed detection history for a site over a series of surveys. For example the probability of observing the history 1001 (denoting the species was detected in the first and fourth surveys of the site) is:
ψ x p[1](1-p[2])(1-p[3])p[4].
The probability of never detecting the species at a site (0000) would therefore be,
ψ x (1-p[1])(1-p[2])(1-p[3])(1-p[4]) + (1-ψ),
which represents the fact that either the species was there, but was never detected, or the species was genuinely absent from the site (1-ψ). By combining these probabilistic statements for all N sites, maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters can be obtained.
The model framework of MacKenzie et al. (2002) is flexible enough to allow for missing observations: occasions when sites were not surveyed. Missing observations may result by design (it is not logistically possible to always sample all sites), or by accident (a technicians vehicle may breakdown enroute). In effect, a missing observation supplies no information about the detection or nondetection of the species, which is exactly how the model treats such values.
The model also enables parameters to be function of covariates. For example, occupancy probability may be a function of habitat, while detection probability is a function of environmental conditions such as air temperature. The model therefore allows relationships between occupancy state and site characteristics to be investigated. Covariates are entered into the model by way of the logistic model (or logit link).
A key assumption of the single season model is that all parameters are constant across sites. Failure of this creates heterogeneity. Unmodeled heterogeneity in detection probabilities will cause occupancy to be underestimated. If there is unmodelled heterogeneity in occupancy probabilities, then it is believed that the estimates will represent an average level of occupancy, provided detection probabilities are not directly related to the probability of occupancy.
Another major assumption of the MacKenzie et al. (2002) model (Single-season) is that the occupancy state of the sites does not change for the duration of the surveying. Situations where this may be violated, for instance, would be for species with large home ranges, where the species may temporarily be absent from the site during the surveying. If this process of temporary absence from the site may be viewed as a random process, (e.g., the species tosses a coin to decide whether it will be present at the site today), then this assumption may be relaxed. However, this will alter the interpretation of the model parameters ("occupancy" should be interpreted as "use" and "detection" as "in the site and detected"). More systematic mechanisms for temporary absences may be more problematic and create unknown biases. Although, users are reminded that the model assumes closure of the sites at the species level, not at the individual level, so there may be some movement of individuals to/from sites without overly affecting the model.
Currently, there are many types of models can be fit to detection/nondetection data within Program PRESENCE.
Installing Program PRESENCE
Here is the
procedure to install on a Windows© system:
The 1st option above is the recommended choice since most spreadsheet programs will automatically backup the data as it is entered. In case the power fails, you might be able to retrieve previously entered data.
Once the data are entered into the program, it must be saved (use menu option File/Save) in order to build and run models. The saved file will have an extension (last 4 characters of filename) of ".pao". This file will contain both presence/absence data and site and sample covariate data.
To build and run models, a 'project-folder' is created by the program. This file will contain the results of each model in separate files, as well as the input (pao) file and summary results (pa3) file.
To start a new analysis, Select 'File/New project' from the menus. A form will
appear which will hold the information about the analysis, including title,
filenames, data-type, and numbers of sites/occasions/covariates. At this
point, you may use a previously-created input file (something.pao) by clicking
the 'select file' button, or go to the input screen by clicking the 'Input
form' button. Clicking the 'select file' button allows you to navigate to the
folder containing the input file and select the file. Clicking the 'Input
Form' button displays a new form with a tabbed spreadsheet-like interface.
Input Form
To enter data into this form, click on the first element (site 1, sample #1), and enter '1' (without quotes) if the species was detected at site 1, sample #1, '0' if the species was not detected, or '-' if this site was not sampled. The 'Tab' key will move the cursor to the next sample (or use the mouse) where you can enter the data for site 1, sample 2. Since most users will have data prepared in some other form (eg., spreadsheet or database), this entry method would (should) never be used as it introduces another source of error in the data.
If your data is already entered in a spreadsheet program, you can open that program, select all the site/sample data (no headers or other fields), and click 'Edit/Copy' from the menus. Then, go back to PRESENCE, and click the 'Edit/Paste values' from the menu. If your spreadsheet contains sitenames in the first column, you can include these in the selection-edit-copy, then select 'Edit/Paste w/sitenames' in the PRESENCE menu.
If you have covariate data. (e.g., weather or effort data), you can enter these by changing the number of covariates in the appropriate box at the top of the form, then clicking the appropriate tab and entering data as was done with the presence/absence data.
Once the data are entered (or simulated), click 'File/Save' from the menu, then click 'File/Close'. This is an important step, as PRESENCE will not be able to use data in the form unless it has been saved.
Next, click the 'select file' button on the 'enter specifications' form, and use the Windows file selector to navigate to the folder where the saved file resides and select the file. If you've used the input data form and saved the file from the file menu, the input filename and results filename will already be entered for you.
Once you've entered the input (pao) and results (pa3) filenames,
click the 'OK' button to create the PRESENCE
project folder. This will close the specification window and open a 'Results
summary' window. You are now ready to compute estimates under pre-defined
models, or build your own 'Custom' model.
Simple single-season model
Program PRESENCE allows you to build models where the model parameters ( occupancy, detection, colonization, extinction,...) depend on various covariate information collected in conjunction with the detection data. To allow flexibility, models are defined by using a 'design-matrix'. Although the mention of "design-matrices" may cause anxiety in non-statistician biologists, they can be thought of as a list of simple mathematical equations relating quantities to estimate (beta parameters) to real parameters of interest (real parameters, ψ, p, γ, ε).
In the design-matrix, the beta-parameters are represented by the columns, and the real parameters are represented by the rows. As an example, let's look at building a simple single-season model where occupancy is constant across all sites and detection is constant across all sites and surveys. When you click 'Run/Analysis-single-season/simple-single-season', a design-matrix form appears. This form contains a tab for the occupancy model parameter, ψ (psi), and a tab for the detection model survey-specific parameters (p1,p2,p3,p4). If you click the 'occupancy' tab, there will be a spreadsheet with 1 row (psi) and 1 column (a1). The estimated ("beta") parameter is 'a1' and the real model parameter is psi, which is computed as psi = 1 * a1. If you click the "Detection" tab, a spreadsheet will appear which contains 4 rows and 1 column. By default, the "real" model parameter p1, will be computed as: p1 = 1 * b1. The real model parameters p2, p3, and p4 will also be computed as: p2 = 1 * b1, p3 = 1 * b1, and p4 = 1 * b1. So, the program will estimate 1 parameter, a1, which will yield a value for psi, and another parameter, b1, which will yield the same value for p1, p2, p3, and p4. Here is the design matrix for detection with constant detection (p1=p2=p3=p4):
p1 = 1 * b1
p2 = 1 * b2
p3 = 1 * b3
p4 = 1 * b4
). We can write those 4 equations for p1-p4 such that they include b1-b4 as:
p1 = 1 * b1 + 0 * b2 + 0 * b3 + 0 * b4
p2 = 0 * b1 + 1 * b2 + 0 * b3 + 0 * b4
p3 = 0 * b1 + 0 * b2 + 1 * b3 + 0 * b4
p4 = 0 * b1 + 0 * b2 + 0 * b3 + 1 * b4
This coefficients of the beta parameters (b1-b4) yields the detection design matrix:
This design-matrix (zeros, with 1's on diagonal) is a special matrix called the "identity" design matrix. It gives a one-to-one correspondence between the estimated "beta" parameters (b1-b4) and the real parameters (p1-p4). In program PRESENCE, this can be achieved by the menus, "Init/Full Identity".
We now have 5 estimated "beta" parameters (a1,b1,b2,b3,b4), which will be used to compute 5 model "real" parameters (psi,p1,p2,p3,p4). .
p1 = 1 * b1 + 0 * b2
p2 = 1 * b1 + 0 * b2
p3 = 0 * b1 + 1 * b2
p4 = 0 * b1 + 1 * b2
So, the detection spreadsheet would contain 4 rows (p1-p4), and 2 columns (b1,b2) and would look like this:
To modify the design matrix in PRESENCE to look like this, right-click on a cell in the design matrix, then select "add cols" or "del cols" to get the desired number of columns, then click in each cell to change it's value to 0 or 1 to match the one above.
In this example, suppose detection probabilities, p(i), are hypothesized to be increasing by a constant amount over the surveys. So, the second detection probability would be equal to the first detection probability plus a constant (X), and the third would be equal to the first + 2*X, and the last detection probability would be equal to the first + 3*X. We would need to estimate two quantities: detection in survey 1 (p1), and the rate of increase/decrease in detection from one survey to the next. We can use b1 for detection in survey 1 (p1=b1), and b2 for the rate of change (X) in detection. Here is how to write the formulae for the p's:
p1 = 1 * b1 + 0 * b2
p2 = 1 * b1 + 1 * b2
p3 = 1 * b1 + 2 * b2
p4 = 1 * b1 + 3 * b2
So, the detection spreadsheet would contain 4 rows, and 2 columns (b1,b2) and would look like this:
p(site i, survey j) = 1*b1 + X(i,j)*b2
where X(i,j) is the value of the sample-covariate at site i, sample j. Here, p(i,j) is equal to a base detection probability, (intercept), (1*b1) plus an effect (b2) of the covariate, X(i,j). If b2=0 then there is no effect of the covariate (p=constant). If b2>0 then there is a positive effect of the covariate (higher covariates yield higher p's), and if b2<0 then there is a negative effect of the covariate (higher covariates yield lower p's).
If you had two covariates for each site/sample, you could compute p as:
p(site i, survey j) = 1*b1 + X(i,j)*b2 + Y(i,j)*b3
where Y(i,j) is the value of the 2nd covariate at site i, sample j. The detection design matrix for the case with 2 covariates would look like this:
To modify the design matrix in PRESENCE to look like this, right-click on a cell in the design matrix, then select "add cols" or "del cols" to get the desired number of columns, then click in the first cell under b1 and select "Init/Constant" from the menus. Then, instead of entering "X" and "Y" in the other cells, use the menus "Init/Individ.Covariates/*X" after clicking on the 1st cell under "b2" and the menus "Init/Individ.Covariates/*Y" after clicking in the 1st cell under b3. You could manually type "X" and "Y" in the appropriate cells, but PRESENCE will not forgive you if you make a mistake in typing the covariate name (including using the wrong case).
This method can be applied to any of the parameters (ψ, p, γ, ε, θ,...) in the models. Also, the saying, "There is more than one way to skin a cat." applies (disclaimer: no cats were harmed in the creation of this document.), meaning the following design matrix will yield the same log-likelihood, AIC value, and real parameter estimates as the 2nd model described above:
This design matrix might look more familiar to the more statistically inclined and can be interpreted as follows:
Now seems like a good time to run through an example. Start program PRESENCE and select 'File/New Project' from the menus. When the 'Enter Specifications' form appears, click the 'Input Data Form' button.
The input data form will contain only 1 tab, for the presence/absence data. We're going to simulate some data in this form. Let's assume we're dealing with a species which has an occupancy rate (ψ) of 0.60 (60% of areas contain at least 1 individual of the species). Also, assume/pretend detection probability is lousy in the beginning, p(1)=0.2, and gets better on each successive sample, p(2)=.4, p(3)=.6, p(4)=.8. This is enough information to generate data for the single-season data-type. To generate presence/absence data, select 'Generate data' from the 'Simulate' menu and enter ψ (0.6) when prompted. Next, enter '0.2,0.4,0.6,0.8' when prompted for the detection probabilities (p) and the table will clear and be filled with randomly generated presence/absence data with those parameters. Click 'File/Save as' and save the file with the name, 'simdata1.pao'. When asked about using the last column for the frequency, click 'No', and enter something for a title. Then, click 'File/Close'.
Next, click the 'Click to select file' button and select the simulated data file we just created (simdata1.pao). The program will fill in the boxes for the filename and results filename. Enter 'simulated data w/ psi=.6, p=.2,.4,.6,.8' in the title box, and click the 'OK' button.
You should see an empty results browser at this point. To run the first pre-defined model, click 'Run/Analysis:single season' from the menus. For the pre-defined models, the program automatically fills in the model name. This name can be anything, but it's best to make it something easily recognized. (I'll describe a common convention for naming later.) In the 'Model' box, you'll see that 'pre-defined' is already selected, and 6 pre-defined models are listed (with the first one selected). Let's start with this model, but first check the 'list data' option. Click 'list-data', then click the 'OK to run' button.
Once you click the 'OK to run' button, you might see another window flash by (perhaps not if you have a fast computer), then a dialog box appears with a short summary of the results of that model. Click 'Yes' to include the output of that model in the results browser. (You might click 'No' in the case where you accidentally run a model which was previously run.) After clicking 'Yes', the summary information from that model is displayed in the results browser.
To view the estimates of psi, and p from this model, use the mouse to position the cursor over the name of the model, '1 group, Constant P', then click with the right mouse button. A pop-up menu will appear. Position the mouse over 'View model output' and click with the left mouse button. This will cause a Notepad window to appear with the results. Look at the output and note the estimates of ψ(Psi), and p. (I got .7267, and .4300, but yours will be different.)
Next, let's run another pre-defined model - one with survey-specific p's. Close the notepad window with the results, then click 'Run/Analysis:single season' from the menus. Click '1 group, survey-specific p' in the 'Model' box (note model name changed for you), then click 'OK to run'. Click 'Yes' to include the results of this model in the results browser, then position the mouse over the model name, right-click, then left-click 'view model output'. In the notepad window, note ψ (Psi), and p(1),p(1),p(3) and p(4). With such a small number of sites and surveys, estimates may be very different from the true values (ψ=.6 , p=.2,.4,.6,.8).
An example detection history might be:
01011
Here, the species was detected at the 2nd, 4th and last samples (segments of transect line), but not detected at the 1st and 3rd samples. The probability of this history would be represented by:
ψ{(1-π) [(1-θ1)θ2+θ1(1-p1)θ'2] +π [(1-θ'1)θ2+θ'1(1-p1)θ'2] } p2[(1-θ'3)θ4+ θ'3(1-p3)θ'4] p4θ'5p5
In this model, we've added a new parameter, π, which is the proportion of sites which are locally occupied before the first survey. If all transects begin at a boundary, such that it is impossible for the species to be locally present before the first survey (eg., start at a lake, or road), then this parameter may be fixed to zero. Another option for the π parameter is to assume that it is equal to some sort of average of θ and θ'. This can be achieved in PRESENCE by fixing π to "EQ", which is an abbreviation for "equalibrium", meaning the value of local occupancy obtained if a random survey is chosen from all surveys.
When this model is chosen, the θ parameters will appear in the design matrix window in the same tab as the occupancy (ψ) parameter. This model is described in Hines (2010)11
Note: this model allows the theta's to be segment-specific. This may be possible if the detection parameters (p) are constant among segments (or a function of a survey-specific covariate). This model isn't identifiable (no single solution for parameters) if both θ's and detection probabilities are allowed to be segment-specific.
This model is a special case of new multi-season Spatial Dependence model where there is only 1 season. So, if you have single-season data (number of surveys per season = total number of surveys), just run the multi-season correlated detections model.
Parameters:
An 'assured' detection is one where there is no doubt about whether the species is present.
Data input for this model is as follows:
site1 h1 h2 h3... site2 h1 h2 h3... site3 h1 h2 h3... : :where
In the sample input below, there are 8 sites and 4 surveys.
In this example, some detections were uncertain (auditory detection of species) and some detections were certain (eg., visual or both auditory and visual detection of species). Site 1 contains an uncertain detection in survey 3, and site 2 contains an uncertain detecion in surveys 1 and 3, and a certain detection in survey 2.
For example, if there are 3 surveys with 'certain' and 'uncertain' detections in each survey, the input detection-history data would contain 6 columns. Columns 1,3,5 would contain uncertain detections in each of the 3 surveys (0=not detected, 1=detected). Columns 2,4,6 would contain certain detections (0=not detected, 2=detected). As far as PRESENCE is concerned, there are 6 surveys, but you will know that there are really only 3 surveys, with two methods per survey.
In the sample below, there are 10 sites and 6 surveys, with the implication that
surveys 1,3,5 are uncertain detections and surveys 2,4,6 are certain
detections.
Notice that columns 1,3,5 only contain 0's and 1's, and columns 2,4,6 only
contain 0's and 2's.
When building the model, the detection design matrix will now contain 6 detection probabilities (p11), 6 false-positive probabilites (p10), and 6 'certainty probabilities' (b). Since there cannot be any false-positive detections in surveys 2,4,6, those p10's need to be fixed to zero (p10(2)=0, p10(4)=0, p10(6)=0). Also, since there are no certain detections in surveys 1,3,5, those b's need to be fixed to 0 (b(1)=0, b(3)=0, b(5)=0).
The design matrix and fixed-parameters windows would look like this:
Notice that any parameter which is fixed (right window) contains all zeros for
that row
in the design matrix window (left window). This example design matrix shows a model
where detection probabilities are the same for both methods (p(odd)=p(even)), which
is probably not very realistic. If the methods are drastically different, one would expect
the detection probabilites to be different and model the p's differently.
Parameters:
Parameters estimated under the assumption of a Poisson distribution:
The species-level probability of detection can be computed using r and λ as:
pi,j = 1 - (1-ri,j)λi
Parameters:
Input data for this model is in the same form as the single-species, single-season model except that the first half of the detection history records are assumed to be species A, and the second half of the records are assumed to be species B. So, if there are 60 sites, the input would consist of 120 detection history records. Records 1-60 would be the site-detection history records for sites 1-60, species A, and records 61-120 would be the site-detection history records for sites 1-60, species B.
Alternatively, data could be coded without doubling the number of sites. In this case, detections would consist of the following codes:
An alternate parameterization was developed, using conditional probabilities as parameters, which is more numerically stable. The parameters are:
Using this parameterization, quantities from the other parametrization can be computed. (eg.,
ψB = ψA*ψBA+(1-ψA)*ψBa
φ = ψA*ψBA/(ψA*ψB)
Additional parameters:
Additional data: In order to obtain estimates for this model, additional data are required, in addition to the standard two-species detection data. This additional data consists of a code for each site and survey, indicating which species were confirmed at the site-survey. So, these data should be in the same format as the detection data. For example:
Detection data: Confirmation data: survey 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 [1,] 2 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 [2,] 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 [3,] 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 [4,] 3 2 2 2 0 2 3 0 2 0 0 0Explanation:
Input to PRESENCE: The additional confirmation data is entered into PRESENCE as the first "survey covariate", and should be named, "conf".
Single-season-Multi-method Model
The multi-method model (Nichols et al. (2008).
9
)
extends the single
season model by allowing detection probabilities to be different
for different methods of observation. This allows the computation of
an additional parameter, θ which is the probability that
individuals are available for detection at the site, given that they
are present.
Parameters:
Data input for this model is as follows:
site1 h1,1 h1,2 h1,3... h2,1 h2,2 h2,3... site2 h1,1 h1,2 h1,3... h2,1 h2,2 h2,3... site3 h1,1 h1,2 h1,3... h2,1 h2,2 h2,3... : :where hi,j = 1 if detection at site for survey i, method j; hi,j = 0 if no detection
Additionally, the number of methods per survey is specified in the '#meth/srvy' input box, when entering data.
In the sample input below, there are 10 sites, 2 surveys and 2 methods per survey.
Notice that the column labels (1-1,1-2,2-1,2-2) indicate survey number and method number.
Parameters:
Input data for this model is in the same form as the single-species, single-season model except that breeding status ('1'=adults only, or '2'=adults and young) is recorded instead of presence ('1').
A more general multi-state model allows for more than just two occupied states. In this case, input consists of:
Parameters under this parameterization:
In order for the multi-state model to be identifiable, constraints must be made on the parameters.
This model is a special case of the multi-season-multi-state model and can be run in PRESENCE as a multi-season-multi-state model with only one season.
Parameters estimated under the assumption of a Poisson distribution:
Parameters:
For example, if the detection history 101 000 was observed at a site (denoting the species was detected in the first and third survey of the site in the first season; not detected otherwise), the probability of this occurring could be expressed as;
ψ x p1,1(1-p1,2)p1,3 x {(1-ε1) (1-p2,1) (1-p2,2) (1-p2,3) + ε1}.
This represents the fact that after the first season, the species may have not gone locally extinct (1-ε1), but was undetected in the 3 surveys in season 2 ((1-p2,1)(1-p2,2)(1-p2,3)) or the species did go locally extinct (ε1) between the first and second seasons.
The model may also be reparameterized in terms of ψt and εt; or ψt and γt, as in some situations this may be a more meaningful parameterization (in terms of overall occupancy) than in terms of the underlying processes. As in the single season model, parameters may be functions of covariates using the logit link.
Note this model does not allow for a so-called "rescue effect", where the local extinction of a colony is "rescued" by the re-colonization of the site before the unoccupied site can be observed (i.e., the site becomes unoccupied then re-occupied all between a single season). Such an effect is sometimes included in metapopulation models, however while a rescue effect is biologically plausible, it can not be estimated (without some potentially unrealistic strict assumptions) from the type of data we are considering here, nor from the type of data often collected in metapopulation studies. The main argument for not including a rescue effect is: why should the rescue of the colony be limited to an arbitrary single event, when possibly there may be a number of opportunities between two seasons for the rescue to occur? To reduce the possibility of having unobserved changes in the occupancy state of sites, the sampling scheme should be designed to reflect the appropriate time scale of the system under study.
ψ2 = ψinitial*(1-ε1) + (1-ψinitial)*γ1 ψ3 = ψ2*(1-ε2) + (1-ψ2)*γ2 ψ4 = ψ3*(1-ε3) + (1-ψ3)*γ3 : : : : :Sometimes, it is desirable to model seasonal occupancy as a function of some covariates. Since seasonal occupancy is computed from εi and γi, this cannot be done with these parameters.
An alternate parameterization in PRESENCE uses k occupancy parameters, k-1 extinction parameters, and T detection parameters. The k-1 colonization parameters are then computed from the seasonal ψ's and ε's by solving the above equations for γi.
ψ2 - ψinitial*(1-ε1) γ1 = --------------------------------- (1-ψinitial)By selecting this parameterization, it's now possible to build a model where seasonal occupancy (ψi) is a function of a seasonal covariate.
Similarly, we could have estimated the colonization parameters and computed the extinction parameters. This parameterization is sometimes useful if the above parameterization fails to converge on reasonable estimates.
Finally, PRESENCE can model extinction and colonization in such a way that the proportion that go locally extinct is the same as the proportion that don't colonize (ε=1-γ).
Parameters:
Parameters:
If you're willing to assume that all sites are 'neighbors' of each other (i.e., if the individual organisms can move anywhere within the study area), then this model can be run by simply using psi1 as a covariate name in the design matrix. When PRESENCE goes to compute colonization or extinction, it will compute the average "conditional" occupancy of neighboring sites in season t-1 and use that value as a covariate in computing colonization/extinction in season t. By specifying "upsi" instead of "psi1", PRESENCE will compute average "unconditional" occupancy of neighboring sites instead of "conditional" occupancy.
Note: "Conditional occupancy" in this case, means conditional on the detection history for the season, not on the entire detection history.
In the case where it is desired to define neighbors specifically for each site, PRESENCE can read a file which defines the neighbors of each site. This file should be a text file containing 1's and 0's where 1 denotes that site s is a neighbor of site r. The format of the file is rows of contigous 1's and 0's, one row for each focal site. Each row should contain a string of k characters (where k = number of sites in the study area). For example if there were 10 sites, the neighbor file might look like this:
0100000000 1000000000 0001100000 0010100000 0011000000 0000001111 0000010111 0000011011 0000011101 0000011110In this example, sites 1 and 2 are neighbors of each other, sites 3,4,5 are neighbors, and sites 6-10 are neighbors. So, if colonization between seasons t-1 and t is modeled as a function of average neighborhood occupancy at time t-1, colonization for site 2 in season t will be a function of the average occupancy for sites 1 and 2 in season t-1.
In some cases, sites may not all be of the same size or habitat quality. In these cases, it would be preferable to weight the average occupancy of neighboring sites by a value indicating the size/quality of each neighboring site. For example, if all sites except site 5 are nearly the same size, but site 5 is twice as large as the other sites, we would want the occupancy for site 5 to have more influence on colonization/extinction of other sites than the occupancy of other sites. So, the neighbor file would be:
0100000000 1.0 1000000000 1.0 0001100000 1.0 0010100000 1.0 0011000000 2.0 0000001111 1.0 0000010111 1.0 0000011011 1.0 0000011101 1.0 0000011110 1.0In this example, sites 3,4,5 are neighbors, but the average occupancy used in the computation of colonization for those sites will be computed as:
logit(γsite4,t) = β0 + β1*Xsite4,t-1+...
where X is the auto-logistic covariate and is computed as:
Xsite4,t-1 = (Wsite3 * ψsite3,t-1 + Wsite5 * ψsite5,t-1) / (Wsite3 + Wsite5 )
Using the weights in the example:
Xsite4,t-1 = (1.0 * ψsite3,t-1 + 2.0 * ψsite5,t-1) / (1.0 + 2.0)
(note: X = auto-logistic covariate and W = weight.)
If PRESENCE finds this auto-logistic covariate name, 'psi1', in the design matrix, it will ask for a neighbor text file. If you don't specifiy a file, PRESENCE will assume all sites are neighbors of each other and all have equal weight (as described initially). If a file is specified, the filename will be saved in the results file (*.pa3), and will be used in all future auto-logistic models. If the file is specified and does not contain a column of weights, all sites will be assumed to have equal weight.
Parameters:
A more general way of parameterizing this model is as follows:
So, the first parameterization assumes that there are only 3 occupancy states:
Input data consists of the following codes:
0=species not detected at site, habitat state=A,
1=species detected at site, habitat state=A,
2=species not detected at site, habitat state=B,
3=species detected at site, habitat state=B.
Parameters:
Multi-season Two-Species Model
This is an extension of the two-species model (MacKenzie et al., 2004)
16allowing the
computation of occupancy, colonization, extinction and detection
parameters of two species along
with conditional probabilities when the
other species is present or detected.
Parameters:
Alternate Input for 2-species model-
Instead of repeating each site for each species, the following
codes can be used for this model:
Untransformed Estimates of coefficients for covariates (Beta's) ============================================================================== estimate std.error A1 : psi 1.098612 (0.248070) B1 : p1 -0.000000 (0.112774) Variance-Covariance Matrix of Untransformed estimates (Beta's): A1 B1 A1 0.061539 -0.004103 B1 -0.004103 0.012718 ------------------------------ ============================================================ Individual Site estimates of <Psi> Site Survey Psi Std.err 95% conf. interval 1 0 survey_1: 0.7500 0.0465 0.6485 - 0.8299 ============================================================ Individual Site estimates of <p> Site Survey p Std.err 95% conf. interval 1 0 survey_1: 0.5000 0.0282 0.4450 - 0.5550 1 0 survey_2: 0.5000 0.0282 0.4450 - 0.5550 1 0 survey_3: 0.5000 0.0282 0.4450 - 0.5550 1 0 survey_4: 0.5000 0.0282 0.4450 - 0.5550 1 0 survey_5: 0.5000 0.0282 0.4450 - 0.5550 ============================================================ DERIVED parameter - Psi-conditional : [Pr(occ | detection history)] Site psi-cond Std.err 95% conf. interval 1 0 0.0857 0.0315 0.0240 - 0.1474 2 site_2 1.0000 0.0000 1.0000 - 1.0000 3 site_3 1.0000 0.0000 1.0000 - 1.0000 4 site_4 1.0000 0.0000 1.0000 - 1.0000
Note that if no covariates are used in the estimation of a real parameter, all sites will have the same value for that parameter and PRESENCE will only print the estimate for the 1st site.
After printing the 'real' parameters, a 'derived' parameter (psi-conditional) is printed. This parameter is the probability that a site is occupied, given it's particular detection history. So, all sites where a detection occured, will have a value of 1.0 for this parameter. Sites with no detections will have a value of less than or equal the unconditional occupancy estimate (psi). "Conditional occupancy" can be computed as:
ψ Π(1-pj) ψc = ---------------- if no detections, = 1 if at least 1 detection ψ Π(1-pj) + 1-ψ
This parameter is useful for generating maps of species occurence.
Multiple Season Output
The results for fitting the multiple season model to the data will appear
in a Notepad window. As for single season models, the output begins with a
listing of the input data (if desired), followed by
the number of sites, sampling occasions and missing observations in
the dataset. The design matrices are printed
followed by the number of parameters in the model, twice the
negative log-likelihood and Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC).
The untransformed parameter estimates and their
associated variance-covariance matrix are printed,
followed by the 'real' parameter estimates.
Untransformed Estimates of coefficients for covariates (Beta's) ============================================================================== estimate std.error A1 : psi 1.098612 (0.411930) B1 : gam1 -2.197225 (2.394989) C1 : eps1 -1.386294 (0.468723) D1 : p1 -0.000000 (0.159541) Variance-Covariance Matrix of Untransformed estimates (Beta's): A1 B1 C1 D1 A1 0.169686 -0.670645 -0.036365 -0.033936 B1 -0.670645 5.735971 0.459619 0.191898 C1 -0.036365 0.459619 0.219701 0.027272 D1 -0.033936 0.191898 0.027272 0.025453 ------------------------------ Model has been fit using the logistic link. Individual Site estimates of Psi: Site Survey Psi Std.err 95% conf. interval 1 0 survey_1: 0.7500 0.0772 0.5723 - 0.8706 Individual Site estimates of Gamma: Site Survey Gamma Std.err 95% conf. interval 1 0 survey_1: 0.1000 0.2155 0.0010 - 0.9239 Individual Site estimates of Eps: Site Survey Eps Std.err 95% conf. interval 1 0 survey_1: 0.2000 0.0750 0.0907 - 0.3852 Individual Site estimates of p: Site Survey p Std.err 95% conf. interval 1 0 survey_1: 0.5000 0.0399 0.4225 - 0.5775 1 0 survey_2: 0.5000 0.0399 0.4225 - 0.5775 1 0 survey_3: 0.5000 0.0399 0.4225 - 0.5775 1 0 survey_4: 0.5000 0.0399 0.4225 - 0.5775 1 0 survey_5: 0.5000 0.0399 0.4225 - 0.5775
Where the previously described simulation procedure is intended as a basic learning tool, this procedure is designed to address a specific question.
There are two general sampling designs that can be investigated; sampling only a subset of sites more intensively to estimate detection probabilities; or halting the repeated sampling of sites after the species is first detected. Both designs are compatible with the MacKenzie et al. (2002)1 model. A single-group model with constant p is fit to the simulated data. Results are written to a file named 'presence.out' and loaded into the Notepad editor when completed.
This simulation file should be set up as follows (see SimExample.txt).
The first line should consist of 4 integer values;
The next N lines of the file hold the true occupancy and detection probabilities for each site. The first column in each line is the occupancy probability, and the following T columns contain the probability of detecting the species (given presence) during each survey.
The first NI of these lines represent the sites that will be sampled more intensively. For the remaining sites, if T0 < T then PRESENCE is still expecting to read in T detection probabilities, however these will not be used.
The final line of the file consists of 3 integer values;
SimExample.txt - sample simulation input file
20 10 5 3 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 1 0 500
Model averaging
Just as there is uncertainty in model parameters, there is also uncertainty in model selection.
There may be several models with (relatively) equal support, according to AIC values.
In this case, parameters may be averaged among all models, such that models with greater
support have more weight in the computed average than models with little support.
Model averaged parameters may be computed in PRESENCE by selecting the "Model averaging" menu from the "Tools" menu. PRESENCE will obtain estimates for each parameter for each site (and survey if applicable) along with the weight of each model and compute a weighted average estimate. The two options for output are:
Examining many simulated and real datasets, we have found that this message can be safely ignored if the number of significant digits is 3 or larger. The number of significant digits it reports is not the number of digits you can trust in the parmeter estimates. We have found that even when it reports 2 significant digits, the esitmates are accurate to 4 or more decimal places.
When the message occurs with the number of significant digits less than two, it usually indicates insufficient data for the desired model, or model overparameterization. This is sometimes accompanied by a warning about the variance-covariance matrix. If this happens, the model may need to be simplified.
In some cases, poor starting values for the parameters can cause the problems noted above. This can be solved by giving better initial values to the program when running the model. For example, if detection probabilities are very small, and the default starting values of 0.5 are far away from the final expected parmaeter values, the optimization routine may fail. The solution would be to input small initial values (on the logit scale) for the model so the optimization routine does not have to search very far. Since simpler models converge more readily than complex ones, it is usually best to start with simple models, so you have starting values for complex ones if needed.
Another indication of a problem with convergence is strange standard error values. PRESENCE may or may not print the error message described above, but the model may still be over-parameterized. It is very important to check estimates and standard errors for all models to make sure they are reasonable. Note that large standard errors of the 'real' parameters (psi,p,eps,gam,...) indicate problems, but large standard errors for the untransformed (beta) parameters are not necessarily a problem. Particularly, when a beta value is large (>10 or <-10), the standard error is usually large also.
Occupancy Estimation and Modeling: Inferring Patterns and dynamics of Species Occurance, 2nd Edition,
Elsevier Publishing, Inc.
Donovan, T. M. and J. Hines. 2007. Exercises in occupancy modeling
and estimation.
To join phidot, go to PHIDOT.ORG and select 'regsiter' near the top of the screen. Once joined, you can set individual preferences, etc.
Versions 2 and up of PRESENCE were developed by Jim Hines of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Currently, We don't know of any bugs in PRESENCE, although that doesn't mean there aren't any (yes, detection probability is less than 1.0!). If you find some, feel free to let us know.
Jim Hines jhines@usgs.gov
Darryl MacKenzie darryl@proteus.co.nz
Covariates
Program PRESENCE makes the distinction between two types of covariates.
Site-specific covariates are covariates that are constant for a site within a
season. Examples would be habitat type, patch size, distance to nearest patch,
or generalized weather patterns such as drought or El Niño years.
Sampling-occasion covariates are covariates that may change with each survey
of a site, for example local environmental conditions such as temperature,
precipitation or cloud cover; time of day; or observer. Covariates are entered
into the models using the logistic model.
Detection probabilities may be functions of either site-specific or sampling occasion covariates, while all other parameters may be functions of site-specific covariates only.
Sampling-occasion covariates may be missing, and are assumed to correspond to a missing detection/nondetection observation. When a covariate is being used that has missing values that do not correspond with a missing detection/nondetection observation, the detection/nondetection data is also treated as missing. Site-specific covariates can not have missing values, unless the site was never surveyed during that season.
An important note about continuous covariates! Because of the way the logit-link works, if the average value of a covariate is a long way from zero, then PRESENCE may not be able to find the true maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters, which will give you bogus results. An indication that there might be a problem is that the estimates themselves look suspicious, the variance-covariance matrix might include a huge value, and/or you get a warning about a non-invertible variance-covariance matrix. The best approach is to transform your data onto another scale which is still meaningful to you. You could divide the covariate values by some constant (i.e., rather than entering 80% humidity as 80.0, use 0.80); subtract the average of the covariates from each observed value (i.e., X* = X - average(X's)); or some combination of the two. Such transformations can be carried out by PRESENCE (in the edit menu) or done easily with a spreadsheet and the modified values pasted back into the Data Window.
The logistic model can be used to investigate potential relationships between probabilities (the response) and covariates (the explanatory variables), as it ensures response values stay between 0 and 1. The logistic model is defined as;
loge(y/(1-y)) = Xβ,
where y is the probability; X is a row vector containing the covariate values; and β is a column vector of coefficient values that are to be estimated. An alternative definition for the model is, y = exp(Xβ) / (1+exp(Xβ)).
Large positive values for Xβ make y tend to 1, while large negative values make y tend to 0. If Xβ = 0, then y = 0.5.
2MacKenzie, D. I., J. D. Nichols, J. E. Hines, M. G. Knutson and A. B. Franklin. Estimating site occupancy, colonization and local extinction probabilities when a species is not detected with certainty. Ecology, 84, 2200-2207.
3Pledger, S. 2000. Unified maximum likelihood estimates for closed capture-recapture models using mixtures. Biometrics 56: 434-442.
4Burnham, K. P. and D. R. Anderson. 1998. Model selection and inference. Springer-Verlag, New York, USA
5MacKenzie, D.I., J.D. Nichols, M.E. Seamans and R.J. Gutiérrez. 2009. Modeling species occurence dynamics with multiple states and imperfect detection, Ecology 90, pp. 823-835.
6Royle, J.A. 2004. N-Mixture Models for Estimating Population Size from Spatially Replicated Counts. Biometrics 60, 108-115.
7Royle, J.A., and J.D. Nichols. 2003. Estimating Abundance from Repeated Presence-Absence Data or Point Counts. Ecology 84(3):777-790.
8MacKenzie, D. I., J. D. Nichols, J. A. Royle, J.A., K. Pollock, L. Bailey and J. E. Hines. 2006. Occupancy Estimation and Modeling - Inferring Patterns and Dynamics of Species Occurrence. Elsevier Publishing.
9 Nichols, J.D., L.L. Bailey, A.F. O'Connell Jr., N.W.Talancy, E.H.C. Grant, A.T. Gilbert, E.M. Annand, T.P. Husband and J.E. Hines. 2008. Multi-scale occupancy estimation and modelling using multiple detection methods. Journal of Applied Ecology 45(5):1321-1329
10 Royle, J. A. 2004. N-mixture models for estimating population size from spatially replicated counts. Biometrics 60:108-115.
11 J. E. Hines, J. D. Nichols, J. A. Royle, D. I. MacKenzie, A. M. Gopalaswamy, N. Samba Kumar, and K. U. Karanth. 2010. Tigers on trails: occupancy modeling for cluster sampling. Ecological Applications 20:1456-1466.
12 Miller, D.A., J.D. Nichols, B.T. Mcclintock, E.H.C. Grant, L.L. Bailey, and L. Weir. 2011. Improving Occupancy Estimation When Two Types Of Observational Error Occur: Non-Detection And Species Misidentification. Ecology 92:1422-1428.
13 Kendall, W.L., J.E. Hines, J.D. Nichols, and E.H. Grant. 2013. Relaxing The Closure Assumption In Single-Season Occupancy Models: Staggered Arrival And Departure Times. Ecology 94(3):610-617.
14 D.I. MacKenzie, J.D. Nichols, L.L. Bailey, and J.E. Hines 2011. An Integrated Model of Habitat and Species Occurrence Dynamics. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 2:612-622.
15 Royle, J. A., and J. D. Nichols. 2003. Estimating abundance from repeated presence-absence data or point counts. Ecology 84:777-790.
16MacKenzie, D.I., L. L. Bailey, and J.D. Nichols. 2004. Investigating species co-occurence patterns when species are detected imperfectly, Journal of Animal Ecology 73, pp. 546-555.
17 Miller, D.A.W., J.D. Nichols, J.A. Gude, L.N. Rich, K.M. Podruzny, J.E. Hines, and M.S. Mitchell. 2013. Determining occurrence dynamics when false positives occur: estimating the range dynamics of wolves from public survey data. PLoS ONE 8(6): e65808. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065808.
18 Chambert, T., E.H. Campbell-Grant, D.A.W. Miller, J.D. Nichols, K.P. Mulder and A.B. Brand. 2018. Two-species occupancy modelling accounting for species misidentification and non-detection. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12985