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The relative importance of life-history variables to population growth rate in mammals: Cole's prediction revisited


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dc.contributorStephen Dobson, dobsofs@auburn.eduen_US
dc.creatorOli, Madan
dc.creatorDobson, F. Stephen
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-17T20:03:11Z
dc.date.available2023-05-17T20:03:11Z
dc.date.created2003
dc.identifier10.1086/367591en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/367591en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://aurora.auburn.edu/handle/11200/50512
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.35099/aurora-580
dc.description.abstractThe relative importance of life-history variables to population growth rate (lambda) has substantial consequences for the study of life-history evolution and for the dynamics of biological populations. Using life-history data for 142 natural populations of mammals, we estimated the elasticity of lambda to changes in age at maturity (alpha), age at last reproduction (omega), juvenile survival (P-j), adult survival (P-a), and fertility (F). Elasticities were then used to quantify the relative importance of alpha, omega, P-j, P-a, and F to lambda and to test theoretical predictions regarding the relative influence on lambda of changes in life-history variables. Neither alpha nor any other single life-history variable had the largest relative influence on lambda in the majority of the populations, and this pattern did not change substantially when effects of phylogeny and body size were statistically removed. Empirical support for theoretical predictions was poor at best. However, analyses of elasticities on the basis of the magnitude (F) and onset (alpha) of reproduction revealed that alpha, followed by F, had the largest relative influence on lambda in populations characterized by early maturity and high reproductive rates, or when F/alpha > 0.60. When maturity was delayed and reproductive rates were low, or when F/alpha < 0.15, survival rates were overwhelmingly most influential, and reproductive parameters (alpha and F) had little relative influence on lambda. Population dynamic consequences of likely responses of biological populations to perturbations in life-history variables are examined, and predictions are made regarding the numerical dynamics of age-structured populations on the basis of values of the F/alpha ratio.en_US
dc.formatPDFen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Chicago Pressen_US
dc.relation.ispartofAmerican Naturalisten_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries0003-0147en_US
dc.rights©The Authors 2003. ©University of Chicago Press 2003. This is this the version of record published by the University of Chicago Press. It is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Item should be cited as: Oli, Madan K., and F. Stephen Dobson. "The relative importance of life-history variables to population growth rate in mammals: Cole’s prediction revisited." The American Naturalist 161, no. 3 (2003): 422-440.en_US
dc.subjectCole’s predictionen_US
dc.subjectelasticity analysisen_US
dc.subjectpopulation conse-quences of life-history patternsen_US
dc.subjectpartial life cycle modelen_US
dc.subjectpopulationregulationen_US
dc.subjectrelative importance of life-history variablesen_US
dc.titleThe relative importance of life-history variables to population growth rate in mammals: Cole's prediction revisiteden_US
dc.typeTexten_US
dc.type.genreJournal Article, Academic Journalen_US
dc.citation.volume161en_US
dc.citation.issue3en_US
dc.citation.spage422en_US
dc.citation.epage440en_US
dc.description.statusPublisheden_US
dc.description.peerreviewYesen_US
dc.creator.orcid0000-0001-5562-6316en_US

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