What are Subpopulations and Why are They Important?
The target population defines the main aquatic resource of interest. Usually subpopulations of the target population are also of interest. For example, in a study of all lakes in Oregon two potential subpopulations might be natural lakes and man-made lakes (i.e., reservoirs). The study may also be designed to compare all lakes between 1 to 50 hectares versus all lakes greater than 50 hectares. Often an estimate of the number of lakes in each trophic status category is desired for each subpopulation. Note that the subpopulation of natural lakes overlaps the subpopulation of lakes between 1 to 50 hectares. Subpopulations do not need to be non-overlapping. They only need to be of interest in the study and explicitly defined. Why is the definition of subpopulations important in the planning of a survey? Subpopulations arise from the questions that a study must answer. For example, the need for answers on natural and man-made lakes arises from questions posed at the initiation of the study
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