Abstract
Abstract We model the points of the detection along the transect line by a Markov
modulated Poisson process (MMPP). The MMPP can accommodate the spatial
cluster structure typical of many line transect surveys. The basic idea is that animal
density switches between a low and a high level according to a latent Markov process.
The MMPP is attractive from a mathematical point of view, as it provides an explicitexpression for the likelihood function and other important quantities. We focus on
estimating the level of overdispersion in the number of detected animals, as this is
important for quantifying the precision of the line transect estimator of animal abundance.
The approach is illustrated using both simulated data and data from a minke whale sighting survey conducted in the North Atlantic.
Keywords Point process · Line transect survey · Minke whale · Overdispersion
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