Stochastic Population Dynamics In Ecology And Conservation (Oxford Series In Ecology & Evolution) (Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution)

All populations fluctuate stochastically, creating a risk of extinction that does not exist in deterministic models, with fundamental consequences for both pure and applied ecology. This book provides the most comprehensive introduction to stochastic population dynamics, combining classicalbackground material with a variety of modern approaches, including new and previously unpublished results by the authors, illustrated with examples from bird and mammal populations, and insect communities.Demographic and environmental stochasticity are introduced with statistical methods for estimating them from field data. The long-run growth rate of a population is explained and extended to include age structure with both deomgraphic and environmental stochasticity. Diffusion approximationsfacilitate the analysis of extinction dynamics and the duration of the final decline. Methods are developed for estimating delayed density dependence from population time series using life history data. Metapopulation viability and the spatial scale of population fluctuations and extinction risk areanalyzed. Stochastic dynamics and statistical uncertainty in population parameters are incorporated in Population Viability Analysis and strategies for sustainable harvesting.Statistics of species diversity measures and species abundance distributions are described, with implications for rapid assessments of biodiversity, and methods are developed for partitioning species diversity into additive components. Analysis of the stochastic dynamics of a tropical butterflycommunity in space and time indicates that most of the variance in the species abundance distribution is due to ecological heterogeneity among species, so that real communities are far from neutral.

Random fluctuations in population dynamics are fundamentally important in pure and applied ecology. This book introduces demographic and environmental stochasticity, and illustrates statistical methods for estimating them from field data. The concept of long-run growth rate of a population is explained and extended to age-structured populations. Diffusion approximations show how stochastic factors affect extinction in single populations and metapopulations. Delayed density dependence in populations with discrete annual reproduction is estimated from time series of adult numbers combined with basic life history data. The spatial scale of population fluctuations and local extinction risk depend on the scales of spatial environmental autocorrelation and individual dispersal, and the strength of density dependence. Stochastic dynamics and statistical uncertainty in population parameters are incorporated in Population Viability Analysis and sustainable harvesting. Statistics of species diversity measures and species abundance distributions are described, with implications for rapid assessments of biodiversity, and methods are developed for partitioning species diversity into components. Analysis of stochastic community dynamics indicates that real communities are far from neutral.

Random fluctuations in population dynamics are fundamentally important in pure and applied ecology. This text introduces demographic and environmental stochasticity and illustrates statistical methods for estimating them from field data.