Variance as a life history outcome: Sensitivity analysis of the contributions of stochasticity and heterogeneity.

ABSTRACT: Variance in life history outcomes among individuals is a requirement for natural selection, and a determinant of the ecological dynamics of populations. Heterogeneity among individuals will cause such variance, but so will the inherently stochastic nature of their demography. The relative contributions of these variance components - stochasticity and heterogeneity - to life history outcomes are presented here in a general, demographic calculation. A general formulation of sensitivity analysis is provided for the relationship between the variance components and the demographic rates within the life cycle. We illustrate these novel methods with two examples; the variance in longevity within and between frailty groups in a laboratory population of fruit flies, and the variance in lifetime rep

SUBMITTER: van Daalen S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7015279 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature