Estimating Allee dynamics before they can be observed: polar bears as a case study.

ABSTRACT: Allee effects are an important component in the population dynamics of numerous species. Accounting for these Allee effects in population viability analyses generally requires estimates of low-density population growth rates, but such data are unavailable for most species and particularly difficult to obtain for large mammals. Here, we present a mechanistic modeling framework that allows estimating the expected low-density growth rates under a mate-finding Allee effect before the Allee effect occurs or can be observed. The approach relies on representing the mechanisms causing the Allee effect in a process-based model, which can be parameterized and validated from data on the mechanisms rather than data on population growth. We illustrate the approach using polar bears (Ursus maritimus), a

SUBMITTER: Molnar PK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3888426 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature