If I have a 100 Square Km of forest site (homogenous vegetation accros the site), how many ligne transects should I design to get reliable density estimates of forest primates through Distance Sampling methods - Is there a relation between study site size and number of transect somewhere ?
As a general rule, you need to sample about 5% of your site. So formulate transect length and number to accomodate that. Also, your forest site is the actual (single) replicate of your study in which you place the transects. The transects themselves are types of subsamples :)
Thanks for your answer - 5% of site might be feasible, however, between replicate few transect vs. have many transect less replicated -- what do you suggest if I know from other source that my species is like "habitat dependent in some part of the protected area.
Well, you have to put your transects where the birds are! No bird present = no bird counted lol. So put the transects where the birds are because you simply want to know what their density is in those locations. There's nothing wrong with doing that. Sampling doesn't have to be random remember :)
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