An Undergraduate Student Research Assistant Is Attempting to Help Estimate

Multiple Choice

An undergraduate student research assistant is attempting to help estimate the population size of a prairie dog colony, and completes several counts using mark-recapture methods. Which factors, other than reproductive rate and survivorship, would be necessary to consider when using the data to construct a life table and estimate the population size and future over time?

A) immigration or emigration of individuals to and from the population
B) reproductive rate and survivorship data are sufficient, nothing else is necessary
C) population size of a nearby colony
D) whether the burrows are clumped, uniform, or randomly distributed across the landscape