Hello,
I am looking into options for modeling a data set for two years of point count data. I am interested in site covariates that affect occupancy, not necessarily unique estimates of occupancy in each survey year.
Would it be possible to model two years of data with a single season model and include year as a covariate for detection and occupancy, or does this violate the assumption of closure between seasons? Essentially I would be treating 3 survey visits per season times 2 seasons as 6 survey visits in a single season model. A single estimate of occupancy combined over all 6 visits would be acceptable for the purpose of this study, so long as the model does not violate any inherent assumptions that would invalidate the results.
I am considering a single season model as an alternative to an implicit dynamics multi-season model.
Thank you,
Melissa