Although our simulations help better understand how sample design influences accuracy and precision of abundance estimates, there are some caveats that should be considered for our model. The size of our virtual environment was designed at a scale that allowed for examination of plausible sampling scenarios that main- tained consistent total area sampled to help guide sampling effort allocation. Sampling scenarios modeled in larger virtual environ- ments containing more grid cells could potentially allow for greater ability to view subtle changes in model results. Our simulations only examined one level of clustered distribution and increasing levels of patchiness should be further evaluated. The number of repeated, sampling events is another important consideration in designing the point-count sampling but was beyond the scope of this study. Further research is needed to examine the influence of adding additional sampling events on accuracy and precision of abundance estimates.