Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/T25729/01
Title:	PPA:Great whale uncertainty: how many great whales are left, and how certain are we of this?
Principal Investigator:	Buckland, Professor ST
Other Investigators:	Borchers, Professor DL Cartwright, Dr C
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	International Fund for Animal Welfare Kirkland High School & Community College Netherthorpe School
Department:	Mathematics and Statistics
Organisation:	University of St Andrews
Scheme:	PPE PreFEC
Starts:	15 November 2004	Ends:	14 August 2007	Value (£):	46,231
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Statistics & Appl. Probability
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Understanding the current and likely future of the world's great whale stocks depends con knowing how many are left. Because they range so widely and inhabit vast areas of ocean, estimates of their abundance usually have large uncertainty.In this project we challenge participants to estimate the abundance of a simulated whale population, using methods used by those conducting real surveys. We give participants the tools to conduct surveys; provide web-based resources for them to find out more about uncertainty and how this can be reduced on surveys, as well as web-based resources to find out about relevant biology and behaviour of the great whale species. The simulated population will be constructed to mimic a real population, about which further information will be available on the web site.It is up to participants to make the best use of the tools provided to get the best estimate they can of how many (simulated) whales are left, using whatever method they consider best.The closer the answer is to the true number, the higher the chances of winning a trip for two to see great whales and great whale research close-up. Web-based background material introducing the underlying science will provide hints on how participants can increase their chances of being close to the true number.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.st-and.ac.uk