Mark V. Bravington, Peter M. Grewe and Campbell R. Davies

Session 2, Talk 4, 18/1/16 @ 1330 hrs

Close-Kin Mark-Recapture (CKMR) is a new way to estimate absolute abundance, survival, and other demographic parameters. Modern genetics is used to find pairs of close kin (parents, offspring, siblings) amongst large numbers of tissue samples; the number and pattern of pairs found are used to fit a modified mark-recapture model, based on the simple idea that each animal "marks" its two parents. Unlike conventional mark-recapture, there is no need to "put animals back alive"--- samples can come directly from dead catches. And unlike conventional stock assessment, there is no need to use any catch-rate (or even catch) data to estimate abundance; this makes CKMR very appealing for tuna, where the interpretation of CPUE is notoriously problematic. In this talk I will briefly cover: the ideas behind CKMR; how we applied it to SBT; and plans for ongoing use of CKMR as a cheap, transparent, and fishery-independent way to monitor the SBT adult stock size while--- we hope--- it rebuilds. I will also briefly comment on CKMR's data requirements and potential applicability to other species.

Contact: M. Bravington, CSIRO Marine Laboratories, Australia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.