Simulation study of wildlife density estimators

Estimators of the mean individual calling rate and density of a wildlife population in a fixed area are derived on the basis of aural information ob-tained by a listener within the fixed area. An estimator of density assuming known calling probabilities and independent callers is minimum variance un-biased. Estimators of density based on unknown calling probabilities are derived under the assumption of independent callers and a Poisson distribu-tion of calls for each caller. The effectiveness and robustness of the estimators are investigated by simulation