How do you estimate the population size of a highly abundant species, like the Magellanic penguin? Systematic surveys or complete censuses traditionally. Villanueva simulated a colony spatially by interpolating survey data (counts from circular plots) across the study site. She then tested various survey methods against the simulation to assess their accuracy. In this way, she can estimate the costs and benefits of different surveying methods and effort. For this site, systematic sampling was the most accurate. What a nice way of analyzing an important question.