Stability in Model Populations

by Mueller, Laurence D.; Joshi, Amitabh

• ISBN13: 9780691007335
• ISBN10: 0691007330
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-23
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Throughout the twentieth century, biologists investigated the mechanisms that stabilize biological populations, populations which--if unchecked by such agencies as competition and predation--should grow geometrically. How is order in nature maintained in the face of the seemingly disorderly struggle for existence? In this book, Laurence Mueller and Amitabh Joshi examine current theories of population stability and show how recent laboratory research on model populations--particularly blowflies,Tribolium,andDrosophila--contributes to our understanding of population dynamics and the evolution of stability. The authors review the general theory of population stability and critically analyze techniques for inferring whether a given population is in balance or not. They then show how rigorous empirical research can reveal both the proximal causes of stability (how populations are regulated and maintained at an equilibrium, including the relative roles of biotic and abiotic factors) and its ultimate, mostly evolutionary causes. In the process, they describe experimental studies on model systems that address the effects of age-structure, inbreeding, resource levels, and population structure on the stability and persistence of populations. The discussion incorporates the authors' own findings on the evolution of population stability inDrosophila.They go on to relate laboratory work to studies of animals in the wild and to develop a general framework for relating the life history and ecology of a species to its population dynamics. This accessible, finely written illustration of how carefully designed experiments can improve theory will have tremendous value for all ecologists and evolutionary biologists.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	3	(30)
Historical Development of the Concept of Population Stability	7	(2)
What Is Stability?	9	(3)
Stability in Metapopulations	12	(6)
Why Are We Interested in Stability?	18	(2)
Population Extinction	18	(1)
Effective Population Size	18	(2)
Fitness in Age-Structured Populations	20	(1)
Why Conduct Laboratory Experiments?	20	(3)
Laboratory Studies of Population Biology	23	(6)
Starting Populations	23	(2)
Lab Adaptation	25	(1)
Replicate Populations	26	(2)
Measuring Genetic Differences	28	(1)
Evaluating Models in Population Biology	29	(2)
General Versus Specific Models	31	(2)
Theory of Population Stability	33	(38)
First-Order Nonlinear Difference and Differential Equations	34	(5)
Stability of First-Order Nonlinear Difference and Differential Equations	39	(7)
Population Cycles and Chaos	46	(6)
Cycles	46	(2)
Chaos	48	(4)
Second- and Higher-Order Models	52	(13)
Age Structure	53	(7)
Pre-Adult Density Effects on Adult Reproduction	60	(5)
Evolution of Population Stability	65	(6)
Techniques for Assessing Population Stability	71	(39)
Linearized Population Dynamics in the Vicinity of an Equilibrium	72	(5)
Model-Based Estimates of Stability	77	(13)
Models Chosen a Priori	79	(6)
Models Estimated from Data	85	(5)
Time-Series Analysis	90	(7)
Chaos	97	(13)
Time Series	97	(2)
Detecting Chaos	99	(11)
Blowflies	110	(22)
Life History of Lucilia cuprina in the Laboratory	111	(4)
Dynamics of Lucilia cuprina Populations	115	(11)
Modeling the Dynamics of Lucilia cuprina Populations	126	(6)
Tribolium	132	(46)
Life History of Tribolium in the Laboratory	133	(10)
Pre-Adult Stages	134	(5)
Adult Stage	139	(4)
A Model of Tribolium Population Dynamics	143	(35)
A Model of Egg-Larva Dynamics	145	(6)
The Larva-Pupa-Adult Model	151	(6)
Empirical Evaluation of the Larva-Pupa-Adult Model	157	(21)
Drosophila	178	(66)
Life History of Drosophila in the Laboratory	179	(7)
Larvae	180	(3)
Adults	183	(3)
A Model of Population Dynamics	186	(7)
Stability of Large Laboratory Populations	193	(3)
Stability of Small Laboratory Populations	196	(12)
Assessment of the Drosophila Model	208	(1)
Stability in Laboratory Metapopulations	209	(12)
Age-Structured Populations	221	(4)
Evolution of Population Dynamics	225	(5)
Increased Risk of Population Extinction with Inbreeding	230	(3)
Evolution of Population Stability	233	(11)
Natural Populations	244	(18)
Simple Models	245	(1)
Surveys Using Response Surface Methods	246	(4)
Detailed Studies of Single Populations	250	(9)
Soay Sheep and Red Deer	250	(2)
Perennial Grass, Agrostis scabra	252	(1)
Lemmings and Voles	253	(4)
Red Grouse	257	(2)
Why Is Chaos Rare in Natural Populations?	259	(3)
Conclusions	262	(25)
A Heuristic Framework for Viewing Population Dynamics and Stability	262	(11)
Lucilia cuprina, Tribolium, and Drosophila Compared	273	(7)
Model Systems in Ecology: Where Next?	280	(7)
References	287	(24)
Author Index	311	(5)
Subject Index	316