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Delay‐Line Models of Population Growth
Author(s) -
Lewis E. R.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1934295
Subject(s) - heuristic , simple (philosophy) , flow (mathematics) , econometrics , ecology , line (geometry) , distribution (mathematics) , population , mathematics , population growth , statistical physics , mathematical optimization , biology , physics , mathematical analysis , demography , geometry , philosophy , epistemology , sociology
Replacing the usual principle of conservation of numbers with the equivalent principle of continuity of flow (or rates) leads to a very heuristic approach to modeling time lags in populations. The approach allows the direct use of unequal time lags (or age classes of unequal lengths) without the implicit assumption of a stable age distribution. Furthermore, for simple, linear natality processes, it allows direct estimation of the biotic potential and of the frequencies of inherent oscillations.