Density estimation by spatially explicit capture-recapture: likelihood-based methods

In this book chapter, Efford, Borchers, and Byrom consolidated the practical likelihood machinery for spatially explicit capture-recapture, explaining how to fit detection functions, choose detector types, and interpret the key parameters governing density, detection at the activity center, and the spatial scale of movement. They clarified study-design implications, including how detector spacing relative to the movement scale sigma affects estimate precision and bias. The chapter served as an accessible bridge between the dense statistical theory and applied camera-trap practice, guiding ecologists in configuring arrays and analyzing data with the secr package. It remains a frequently consulted methodological reference for researchers planning felid density surveys and is part of the canonical SECR literature that shaped modern camera-trap analysis.