Life-history constraints on maximum population growth for loggerhead turtles in the northwest Atlantic.

ABSTRACT: Conservation planning for protected species often relies on estimates of life-history parameters. A commonly used parameter is the instantaneous maximum population growth rate (r _max) that can be used to limit removals and design recovery targets. Estimation of r _max can be challenging because of limited availability of species- and population-specific data and life-history information. We applied a method proposed by Neil and Lebreton, originally developed for birds, to loggerhead turtles. The method uses age-at-first-reproduction and adult survival to estimate r _max. We used a variety of datasets and matrix population models to confirm an allometric assumption required by the method, and to generate estimates of age-at-first-reproduct

SUBMITTER: Hatch JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6745678 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature