Application of the Simple Saddlepoint Approximation to Estimate Probability Distributions in Wildlife Research

摘要

The simple saddlepoint approximation (SSA) uses the mean, variance, and skewness (a measure of the asymmetry of the distribution) of a data set to algebraically approximate the probability density function of a selected variable. We compared habitat-suitability bounds estimated with SSAs and continuous selection functions. Habitat-suitability bounds for bobwhite nesting based on the SSA method were biologically comparable to the results of the method based on continuous selection functions. The SSA approach allows habitat-suitability bounds to be estimated using algebra and can be calculated in computer spreadsheets