WHAT IS KNOWN FATES ANALYSIS?
In known fates analysis, subjects are release with radio-transmitters or other devices that can be used to relocate the animals and determine their fates (alive or dead). As a special case, we will also consider studies where the subjects are nests or other sessile objects, which are monitored through time to determine some terminal status (e.g., hatched, fledged, destroyed) defined as success or failure. Sometimes all subjects are followed over a fixed interval of time, e.g., n animals are released with radios at the same initial date. More often, animals are released over time, according to a ‘staggered entry’ design, and are thus ‘at risk’ over different intervals of time. Furthermore, it often happens that animals cannot be tracked until all have either died or survived to some fixed endpoint; it is common for some animals to be censored before the end of the study because radios have failed, they have moved out of tracking range, or other (e.g., unknown) reasons. Statistical model
