Likelihood-based inference for clustered line transect data

The uncertainty in estimation of spatial animal density from line transect surveys depends on the degree of spatial clustering in the animal population. To quantify the clustering we model line transect data as independent thinnings of spatial shot-noise Cox processes. Likelihood-based inference is implemented using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to obtain efficient estimates of spatial clustering parameters. Uncertainty is addressed using parametric bootstrap or by consideration of posterior distributions in a Bayesian setting. Maximum likelihood estimation and Bayesian inference is compared in an example concerning minke whales in the North Atlantic. Our modelling and computational approach is flexible but demanding in terms of computing time.