Does Density-Dependent Individual Growth Simplify Dynamics in Age-Structured Populations? A General Model Applied to Perch, "Perca fluviatilis"

Ylikarjula, J., Heino, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2928-3940, Dieckmann, U. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7089-0393, & Kaitala, V. (2001). Does Density-Dependent Individual Growth Simplify Dynamics in Age-Structured Populations? A General Model Applied to Perch, "Perca fluviatilis". IIASA Interim Report. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: IR-01-025

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Abstract

Availability of resources is a limiting factor for many populations. Diminished resource availability due to intraspecific competition is expected to decrease the annual growth increments of individuals. We study an age- structured population model for individuals with indeterminate growth and annual reproduction; parameters of the model are chosen to characterize a population with life history similar to the Eurasian perch. Different variants of this model are analyzed, all of which have a potential for exhibiting non-equilibrium population fluctuations. We demonstrate that by incorporating density-dependent individual growth into these models changes the dynamics of these populations by damping or even eradicating fluctuations in abundance and biomass. This finding offers an explanation for the observed stable dynamics of unperturbed perch populations. Further, density-dependent individual growth may also be a significant factor for contributing to the conspicuous empirical rarity of non-equilibrium population dynamics in general.

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