Description
Return signed gap and intervening survey occasions.
Conservation monitoring depends on survey effort, detection assumptions, area/time bases and explicit unknown-status policies. A local probability or coverage ratio describes supplied observations and models without establishing population abundance, ecological success or legal protection.
Return signed gap and intervening survey occasions.
When to use this tool
Use Survey Detection Occasion Gap when checking a supplied conservation-monitoring, geometry or evidence-basis convention.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Enter firstOccasion, secondOccasion. Use the units and conventions below.
- Run the tool. Correct any format, range, or cross-field input error before interpreting the output.
- Read interveningOccasions, signedGap. Use the output convention below.
Return signed gap and intervening survey occasions. Require nonnegative whole occasion indexes; signedGap = second-first, interveningOccasions = max(0,abs(gap)-1).1
| Input field | Meaning and units | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| firstOccasion | First Occasion | Required. Safe integer; minimum 0. |
| secondOccasion | Second Occasion | Required. Safe integer; minimum 0. |
| Output field | Interpretation | Returned shape |
|---|---|---|
| interveningOccasions | Intervening Occasions | Required. Safe integer. |
| signedGap | Signed Gap | Required. Safe integer. |
{
"input": {
"firstOccasion": 2,
"secondOccasion": 5
},
"output": {
"interveningOccasions": 2,
"signedGap": 3
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- These are ordinal occasion labels, not elapsed days or verified independent sampling events.
- Inputs must satisfy both the field types and the cross-field conditions above. Invalid input causes an error; a successful false flag or documented placeholder is a different result.
- Numeric calculations use binary floating point unless exact decimal-integer arithmetic is explicitly stated. No hidden measurement tolerance or decimal rounding is added; nonfinite or out-of-contract results are rejected. Numeric signed-zero results are exported as zero.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Use an appropriate ecological sampling and detection model, verified field records and actual habitat geometry for substantive conservation inference.
References
Similar or alternative tools
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