User:Feeble Jam/sandbox

When  determining whether a population is overpopulated a variety of factors must be looked at. Given complexity of the issue, often it is determined by scientist and wildlife management as to what constitutes such a claim. In many cases scientists will look to food sources and living space to gauge the abundance of a species in a particular area. National parks collect extensive data on the activities and quality of the environment they are established in. This data can be used to track whether a specific species is consuming larger amounts of their desired food source over time.

This is done typically in four ways, the first being “total counting”. Researchers will use aerial photography to count large populations in a specific area such as deer, waterfowl, and other “flocking” or “herd” animals. Incomplete counts involve counting a small subsection of a population and extrapolating the data across the whole area. This method will take into account the behavior of the animals such as how much territory a herd may cover, the density of the population, and other potential factors that may come into question.

The third method is “indirect counts” ; this is done by looking at the environment for signs of animal presence. Typically done by counting fecal matter or dens/nesting of a particular animal. This method is not an accurate method, but gives general counts of a population in a specific locale.

Lastly the method of mark-recapture is used extensively to determine general population sizes. This method involves the trapping of animals after which some form of tag is placed on the animal and it is released back into the wild. After which, other trappings will determine population size based on the number of marked versus unmarked animals.