Final answer:
To determine the population size and density of a bird population on a Hawaiian island, a researcher can use the mark and recapture method. This involves capturing and marking birds, releasing them, and later recapturing them to estimate the total population size. The density can be calculated by dividing the population size by the area of the island.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the population size and density of a bird population on one of the Hawaiian islands, a researcher can use the mark and recapture method. This involves marking a sample of captured birds and releasing them back into the environment. Later, the researcher captures more birds and records how many of them are marked. By using this information, they can estimate the total population size.
Once the population size is determined, the researcher can calculate the density of the bird population by dividing the population size by the area of the island in square kilometers. This will give the number of birds per square kilometer.
For example, if the researcher captures and marks 100 birds, and in a later sample, 10 of the marked birds are recaptured out of a total of 200 birds, they can estimate that the total population size is approximately 1000 birds. If the island has an area of 10 square kilometers, the density would be 100 birds per square kilometer.