Interval Estimation of the Size of a Small Population from a Mark-Recapture Experiment

SUMMARY We consider the problem of estimation of the size of a small population based on the results of a certain type of capture-recapture experiment. Seven methods for constructing confidence intervals for the population size, N, are considered. One of the methods, the null null method, is new, while the other six are maximum likelihood methods. For large confidence levels (i.e., 90% or more) extensive computer simulation of the experiment...