Program MARK: survival estimation from populations of marked animals

More than one attribute group of animals can be modeled. The basic input to MARK is the encounter history for each animal. MARK can also estimate the size of closed populations. Parameters can be constrained to be the same across re-encounter occasions, or by age, or group, using the parameter index matrix. A set of common models for initial screening of data are provided. Time effects, group effects, time x group effects and a null model of none of the above, are provided for each parameter. Besides the logit function to link the design matrix to the parameters of the model, other link functions include the log-log, complimentary log-log, sine, log, and identity. The estimates ofmodel parameters are computed via numerical maximum likelihood techniques. The number of parameters that are estimable in the model are determined numerically and used to compute the quasi-likelihood Ale value for the model. Both the input data, and outputs for various models that the user has built, are stored in the Results database which contains a complete description of the model building process. It is viewed and manipulated in a Results Browser model output, deviance residuals from the model, likelihood ratio and analysis of deviance between models, and adjustments for over dispersion. Models can also be retrieved and modified to create additional models. These capabilitiesare implemented in a Microsoft Windows 95 interface. The online helpsystem has been developed to provide all necessary program documentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]