Evaluation of two density estimators of small mammal population size

Wilson and Anderson evaluated approaches for converting capture-recapture abundance into density by defining an effective trapping area, comparing boundary-strip methods such as adding a buffer based on movement distances. Their analysis of the assumptions and performance of these density estimators clarified why the choice of buffer width strongly affects density and how movement information should inform the effective area. Although developed for small-mammal grids, the issues they identified, especially the ambiguity of the effective sampling area, directly anticipate the central problem that spatially explicit capture-recapture later solved for camera-trap studies. The paper is a historical methodological touchstone, frequently cited in discussions of density estimation, effective area, and the motivation for moving beyond ad hoc buffering toward spatial models.