Effects of demographic structure on key properties of stochastic density-independent population dynamics

Yngvild Vindenes, Sæther, Bernt-Erik and Steinar Engen

Theoretical Population Biology, 2012, vol. 82, issue 4, 253-263

Abstract: The development of stochastic demography has largely been based on age structured populations, although other types of demographic structure, especially permanent and dynamic heterogeneity, are likely common in natural populations. The combination of stochasticity and demographic structure is a challenge for analyses of population dynamics and extinction risk, because the population structure will fluctuate around the stable structure and the population size shows transient fluctuations. However, by using a diffusion approximation for the total reproductive value, density-independent dynamics of structured populations can be described with only three population parameters: the expected population growth rate, the environmental variance and the demographic variance. These parameters depend on population structure via the state-specific vital rates and transition rates. Once they are found, the diffusion approximation represents a substantial reduction in model complexity.

Keywords: Reproductive value; Dynamic heterogeneity; Permanent heterogeneity; Diffusion approximation; Matrix model; Integral projection model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:thpobi:v:82:y:2012:i:4:p:253-263

DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2011.10.002

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