Estimating g(0) from single observer data

Abstract

In this paper we estimate g(0), or equivalently the effective strip half-width, using data from a line transect survey which has been operated in double observer mode only a small fraction of the time. By letting the proportion of double observer effort approach zero, by increasingly masking data from one of the observers, we find that the estimate of g(0) does not break down. This conclusion rests on the fact that we are using both forward and perpendicular distances, and is perhaps only relevant to northeastern Atlantic minke whale surveys