Premium
Age‐specific fecundity of mammalian populations: A test of three mathematical models
Author(s) -
Gage Timothy B.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
zoo biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1098-2361
pISSN - 0733-3188
DOI - 10.1002/zoo.10029
Subject(s) - biology , fecundity , statistics , polynomial , smoothing , evolutionary biology , zoology , population , mathematics , demography , mathematical analysis , sociology
Empirical age‐specific fecundity distributions are often based on small samples and hence include high levels of sampling error, particularly at the older ages. One solution to this problem is to smooth the distributions using appropriate models. The aim of this article is to compare the utility of three models for smoothing and/or graduating these distributions. The three models examined are 1) the Gamma distribution, 2) the Hadwiger function, and 3) the Brass polynomial. Test data sets consist of four types of primates (including humans), Asian elephants, and Przewalski’s horse (an extinct species). The results indicate that all three models work well with a variety of mammalian data. The simplest of these models, the Brass polynomial, cannot be rejected based on available data and appears to be the optimum choice. Zoo Biol 20:487–499, 2001. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.