Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Colorado
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Problem statement: Wildlife occurrence data are often collected throughout wildlife refuges, but are typically subject to measurement error associated with imperfect detection of species. Moreover, with amphibian and avian species, such data may be subject to both false negative and false positive errors. So What? Why this research matters: Traditionally, occupancy models to estimate wildlife occurrence and species distributions have only accommodated false negative errors, but false positives can affect the resulting statistical inference if they are not accounted for. Collaboration/Partners: This project is in collaboration with scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey. Research That Informs Decisions: Formal statistical models that account for both false negative and false positives help to reduce the uncertainty and bias associated with inferring species occupancy. Our new methodology will help better understand the role of management at wildlife refuges versus other non-federal lands in conserving amphibian species.