Individual variation in life history characteristics can influence extinction risk
Authored by HI Jager
Date Published: 2001
DOI: 10.1016/s0304-3800(01)00362-3
Sponsors:
United States Department of Energy (DOE)
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
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Mathematical description
Model Code URLs:
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Abstract
The white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) shows great individual
variation in the age at maturation. This study examines the consequences
of model assumptions about individual variation in the age at maturation
on predicted population viability. I considered: (1) the effects of
variation in age at maturation alone; (2) the effects of heritability;
and (3) the influence of a stable and an altered selective regime. Two
selective regimes represented conditions before and after the
impoundment of a river, blocking access of anadromous white sturgeon
populations to the ocean. In contrast to previous simulation studies, I
found that increased individual variation in the age at maturity did not
necessarily lead to a higher likelihood of persistence. Individual
variation increased the simulated likelihood of persistence when the
variation was heritable and the selective regime had changed such that
the mean age at maturity was no longer optimal. (C) 2001 Elsevier
Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Tags
Evolution
Dynamics
Population persistence
Model
Traits
Demographic
stochasticity
White sturgeon
Fish
populations
Sturgeon acipenser-transmontanus
Selection differentials