Matrix Models as Building Blocks

Abstract

Population is a collective group of organisms of the same species. Each population has several characteristic properties, such as population density, natality, mortality, age distribution, dispersion, and growth forms. This chapter discusses biodemographic models, which are population models characterized by numbers of individuals or kilograms of biomass of individuals or species as typical units for state variables. The growth of one population is used to present the basic concepts. The chapter explores the interactions between two or more populations. The famous Lotka–Volterra model and several more realistic predator–prey and parasitism models are discussed. Age distribution is introduced and computations with matrix models are illustrated, including the relations to biological growth. Finally, the chapter describes the use of fishery/harvest models, metapopulation dynamics, and infection models. © 2011, Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.