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Review summary

Advances and applications of occupancy models

Larissa L. Bailey, Darryl I. MacKenzie, James D. Nichols · Methods in Ecology and Evolution · 2014

Bailey, MacKenzie, and Nichols reviewed the rapid development of occupancy modeling in the decade after its introduction, cataloguing extensions such as multi-season dynamics, multi-species and community models, multi-state occupancy, false-positive detection models, and integration with abundance. They illustrated applications across taxa and management contexts and offered guidance on choosing among the proliferating variants. For camera-trap practitioners, the review maps the analytical options for turning detection-nondetection data into inference about distribution, co-occurrence, and change. By synthesizing the state of the art, it became a standard reference orienting researchers to the occupancy toolbox. It is widely cited as a comprehensive overview of occupancy methods and their suitability for different ecological and monitoring questions, including those addressed with cameras.

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