Analysis of the power law logistic population model with slowly varying coefficients

We apply a multiscale method to construct general analytic approximations for the solution of a power law logistic model, where the model parameters vary slowly in time. Such approximations are a useful alternative to numerical solutions and are applicable to a range of parameter values. We consider two situations—positive growth rates, when the population tends to a slowly varying limiting state; and negative growth rates, where the population tends to zero in infinite time. The behavior of the population when a transition between these situations occurs is also considered. These approximations are shown to give excellent agreement with the numerical solutions of test cases. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.