ct_rest_select_stay: Choose a staying-time distribution for REST by WAIC

In ct: Camera Trap Data Management and Multi-Method Ecological Analysis

Choose a staying-time distribution for REST by WAIC

Description

Fits the REST staying-time survival sub-model under one or more candidate distributions (and, optionally, covariate combinations) and ranks them by WAIC, with a Bayesian p-value as a goodness-of-fit check. Use the winning stay_distribution in ct_fit_rest().

Usage

ct_rest_select_stay(
  stay_data,
  species,
  stay_formula = Stay ~ 1,
  stay_distribution = c("lognormal", "gamma", "weibull", "exponential"),
  stay_random_effect = NULL,
  compare_models = FALSE,
  iterations = 5000,
  burnin = 1000,
  thin = 4,
  chains = 3,
  cores = 3,
  quiet = FALSE
)

Arguments

stay_data	Staying-time data from ct_rest_stay().
species	Single species name to analyse.
stay_formula	Staying-time formula, e.g. Stay ~ 1 or Stay ~ 1 + habitat.
stay_distribution	One or more of "lognormal", "gamma", "weibull", "exponential" to compare.
stay_random_effect	Optional column in stay_data for a random effect on staying time. Tidy-selected (string, bare name, or position).
compare_models	If TRUE, also compare every covariate combination of stay_formula.
iterations, burnin, thin, chains, cores	MCMC settings.
quiet	If TRUE, suppress progress messages.

Value

An object of class ct_rest_stay with a waic ranking tibble, a summary of the mean staying time for the best model, and its samples.

See Also

ct_fit_rest()

Examples

data(rest_detection)
data(rest_station)

stay <- ct_rest_stay(rest_detection, rest_station)

## Not run: 
# Compare candidate staying-time distributions by WAIC (requires 'nimble')
ct_rest_select_stay(
  stay, species = "Red duiker",
  stay_distribution = c("lognormal", "gamma", "weibull"),
  iterations = 3000, burnin = 1000, chains = 2, cores = 2
)

## End(Not run)

ct documentation built on Oct. 22, 2026, 1:07 a.m.