I am trying to determine the effects of ecological factors on the survival of lions of different age groups. I have divided my data into 4 ages: cub1 (0-1 years), cub2 (1-2 years), sa (subadults 2-4 years) and adults (older than 4 years). I am looking at the effects of flooding, prey abundance and competition on survival of these age groups, and as such have constructed the following models in RMark:
#Cub1 and cub 2 age groups affected by competition, all affected by flood.
Phi.cub1xc.cub2xc.sa.dot.ad.dot.plus.flood=list(formula=~cub1:C+cub2:C+sa+ad+FL)
#Cub1 and cub2 age groups affected by competition, sa and adult age groups affected by prey. All affected by flood.
Phi.cub1xC.cub2xC.saxprey.adxprey.plus.flood=list(formula=~cub1:C+cub2:C+sa:PR+ad:PR+FL)
#Cub 1 and cub2 age groups affected by competition, sa and a affected by flood, prey affects all.
Phi.cub1xC.cub2xC.saxflood.adxflood.plus.prey=list(formula=~cub1:C+cub2:C+sa:FL+ad:FL+PR)
#Cub1 and cub2 affected by competition, adults affected by age and all affected by interaction between flooding and prey abundance.
Phi.cub1xC.cub2xC.sa.dot.adxage.plus.PRXFL=list(formula=~cub1:C+cub2:C+sa+ad:age+PR*FL)
I have the following questions regarding my assumptions in these models:
1. Do the models match their respective aims in the above descriptions?
2. Does the : operator restrict the specified predictor to the specified age group only?
3. Conversely, does adding FL or PR to models mean that these predictors are factored in for all age groups?
Thank you in advance!