Matrix models for size-structured populations: unrealistic fast growth or simply diffusion?

ABSTRACT: Matrix population models are widely used to study population dynamics but have been criticized because their outputs are sensitive to the dimension of the matrix (or, equivalently, to the class width). This sensitivity is concerning for the population growth rate (λ) because this is an intrinsic characteristic of the population that should not depend on the model specification. It has been suggested that the sensitivity of λ to matrix dimension was linked to the existence of fast pathways (i.e. the fraction of individuals that systematically move up a class), whose proportion increases when class width increases. We showed that for matrix population models with growth transition only from class i to class i + 1, λ was independent of the class width when the mortality and the recruitment ra

SUBMITTER: Picard N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4048208 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature