Temporal and Procedural Influences on Activity Estimated by Time-Sampling

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Abstract
Computer simulations were used to evaluate the direction and extent of error of time-sampling activity during different times of day, stages of growth, or seasons. Estimated total time-inactivity (TIA) of captive white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and duration of activity bouts were compared with actual values obtained from 24-h continuously telemetered records of activity. In studies of suckling fawns, instantaneous and conditional time-sampling had the highest correspondence between estimated and actual values of TIA when intervals between sampling were .ltoreq. 5 min; however, in conditional time-sampling the average agreement decreased to 0% when .gtoreq. 20 min elapsed between samples. Actual TIA was misrepresented more often during the night. In seasonal studies, TIA significantly differed from actual values only when estimated by conditional time-sampling. Poorest estimates of TIA occurred at sample intervals .gtoreq. 20 min and declined to 70% of actual values. Use of time-sampling to estimate average duration of activity bouts often under- and overestimated the continuous measure of fawns and over the annual cycle (from 0-10.02 and 0.67-5.14 actual times, respectively). Frequency distributions of bout-lengths of activity of deer were adequately modeled by the gamma-type density function.

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