Final answer:
The "lemur experiment" is a mark and recapture method used to estimate animal populations. By capturing, marking, releasing, and then recapturing, we can estimate the lemur population size using a special formula. For the given numbers, the estimated lemur population size is approximately 164.
Step-by-step explanation:
The "lemur experiment" refers to a common wildlife biology method called mark and recapture used to estimate the size of animal populations, especially those that are endangered. In this experiment, after initially capturing and marking 37 lemurs, and then later recapturing 49 lemurs, of which 11 were previously marked, one would use the proportion of marked to unmarked lemurs in the second capture to estimate the total population size. The formula for the estimate is (number of marked first capture * total number of second capture) / number of marked recaptures, leading to an estimation of the lemur population.
To calculate this, use the formula: (37 marked initially * 49 total second capture) / 11 marked recaptures = 37 * 49 / 11 = 164.45, which, rounded to the nearest whole number, is approximately 164 lemurs in the population.