A Bayesian hierarchical model for over-dispersed count data: a case study for abundance of hake recruits

In this paper, we introduce a Bayesian Hierarchical model to estimate the abundance of hake recruits, as well as to study their spatial distributional patterns in the Portuguese territorial waters. Main objective of the paper is to improve on traditional empirical methods based on sampling averages and variances by using probabilistic models that capture spatial dependence structures. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.