Sydney Dunigan

Catch & Release Lab

AP Environmental Science Heritage High School
Collaborator:
Taylor Cielo
Introduction:
Tagging is a very common way to determine the number of species in a given area.
Catch and release is a method that involves marking a number of individuals in a
natural population, returning them to that population, and subsequently recapturing
some of them as a basis for estimating the size of the population at the time of marking
and release (Kasmer). This way, scientists can monitor the behavior of a species;
primarily aquatic organisms. This is typically performed in small areas with varying
species. Through this method, scientists can determine what and how many species are
in that given area.
Problem: Is catch and release an accurate way to estimate population sizes?
Hypothesis: If organisms are tagged and returned, then you will efficiently estimate the
number of the given species in the pond my catching them again.
Parts of the Experiment:
Independent Variables: The number of tagged organisms, the size of the
samples, and the number of catches are the independent variables.
Dependent Variables: The accuracy of the estimated population size (percent
error).
Experimental Group: Every group that had a different catch size and number of
catches.
Materials:

random number of white beads

assigned number of colored beads (10)
paper bag

Methods:
Each group in the class will use a different combination of catch size and number of
catches taken. We will use colored beads to represent fish in a simulated ocean.
1)

Remove a sample catch of 10 fish from the population in the ocean bag.

2)
Substitute fish of a different color for each captured fish to represent tagging the
captured fish, then return these tagged fish to the ocean bag. Record the original
number tagged in the table.
3)
Shake the bag and without looking remove a sample catch from the population in
the bag. Record the total number of fish caught and the number of tagged fish caught in
this sample catch.
4)

Repeat this for a total of 10 catches.

Sydney Dunigan

5)

Calculate the percent tagged for each catch and average that column.

6)

Calculate the estimated population size:

population size = number tagged / mean of the sample percentages

7)

Count the actual population.

8)
Calculate the percent error between your estimated population and the actual
population.
9)

Compare your numbers with those of your classmates to test your hypothesis.

Data:

Number tagged
10

Number of catches
10

% error
51.47%

10

15

13.17%

20

15

55.67%

10

10

27%

15

15

23.3%

20

10

26.3%

30

10

7.4%

10

20

6.05%

20

20

4.5%

30

10

26%

30

20

14.5%

30

20

63.8%

25

15

19%

30

10

7.4%

15

20

11.3%

15

20

17.2%

25

20

9%

20

15

1.472%

Sydney Dunigan

Data Analysis:

Larger numbers of tagged organisms yield more accurate predictions of the

species population size
Number of catches has an insignificant effect on the percent accuracy

Conclusion:
The catch and release method proved the hypothesis untrue in the fact that the number
of catches would have any sort of effect on the accuracy. However, the populace was
successfully predicted, to an extent, and in one case the percent accuracy was a mere
1.472%. This can be highly debatable, though, because the percent accuracy varied
significantly. Therefore, this is not a practical solution to finding the size of a population
in a larger area. Something that could cause the population estimate be different from
the actual population size would be if every time zero tagged organisms were gathered,
or if all of them were caught at once, which would cause outliers in the data. Also, the
larger the catch, the more accurate results you can accumulate. However, the number of
catches had no effect on the outcome. Two groups both sampled 20 catches and one
group had 63.8% percent accuracy, while the other had 4.5% percent accuracy. This
method of catch and release does appear to be relatively accurate, as long as the
sample sizes and tagged organisms remain high, in comparison to the actual size of the
populous. However, in a real situation with scientists, they often cannot prove the
percent accuracy because they would not be able to count all of the fish in a lake for
instance. Catch and release is a method that is best used for tracking organisms, monitor
eating habits, and other purposes, rather than population size, especially for very large
areas that are being tested. Correspondingly, the best places to conduct this technique
are in areas where the species has nowhere to go. This is because the test subjects could
leave, like a fish in a stream. Overall, this method is not very effective, because there is
always a possibility for a skew in the data collected due to inconsistent sample sizes, or
the migration of the species.
Citations:
Kasmer. "Mark & Recapture." Mark & Recapture. General Ecology Team, n.d. Web. 03 Feb.
2015.