scholarly journals Demographic analysis of an Israeli Carpobrotus population

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0250879
Author(s):  
Ana Bogdan ◽  
Sam C. Levin ◽  
Roberto Salguero-Gómez ◽  
Tiffany M. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Demographic Data ◽  
Plant Population Dynamics ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Integral Projection Model ◽  
Projection Model ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Structured Population Model ◽  
Demographic Models ◽  
Mediterranean Habitats ◽  
Structured Population

Carpobrotus species are harmful invaders to coastal areas throughout the world, particularly in Mediterranean habitats. Demographic models are ideally suited to identify and understand population processes and stages in the life cycle of the species that could be most effectively targeted with management. However, parameterizing these models has been limited by the difficulty in accessing the cliff-side locations where its populations are typically found, as well as accurately measuring the growth and spread of individuals, which form large, dense mats. This study uses small unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to collect demographic data and parameterize an Integral Projection Model of an Israeli Carpobrotus population. We validated our data set with ground targets of known size. Through the analysis of asymptotic growth rates and population sensitivities and elasticities, we demonstrate that the population at the study site is demographically stable, and that reducing the survival and growth of the largest individuals would have the greatest effect on reducing overall population growth rate. Our results provide a first evaluation of the demography of Carpobrotus, a species of conservation and economic concern, and provide the first structured population model of a representative of the Aizoaceae family, thus contributing to our global knowledge on plant population dynamics. In addition, we demonstrate the advantages of using drones for collecting demographic data in understudied habitats such as coastal ecosystems.

scholarly journals Demographic analysis of Israeli Carpobrotus populations: management strategies and future directions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Bogdan ◽  
Sam C. Levin ◽  
Roberto Salguero-Gómez ◽  
Tiffany M. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Demographic Data ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Plant Population Dynamics ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Integral Projection Model ◽  
Projection Model ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Demographic Models ◽  
Mediterranean Habitats

AbstractCarpobrotus species are harmful invaders to coastal areas throughout the world, particularly in Mediterranean habitats. Demographic models are ideally suited to identify and understand population processes and stages in the life cycle of the species that could be most effectively targeted with management. However, parameterizing these models has been limited by the difficulty in accessing the cliff-side locations where its populations are typically found, as well as accurately measuring the growth and spread individuals, which form large, dense mats. This study uses small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, drones) to collect demographic data and parameterize an Integral Projection Model of an Israeli Carpobrotus population. We validated our data set with ground targets of known size. Through the analysis of asymptotic growth rates and population sensitivities and elasticities, we demonstrate that the population at the study site is demographically stable, and that reducing the survival and growth of the largest individuals would have the greatest effect on reducing overall population growth rate. Our results provide a first evaluation of the demography of Carpobrotus, a species of conservation and economic concern, and provide the first stage-based population model of a representative of the Aizoaceae family, thus contributing to our global knowledge on plant population dynamics. In addition, we demonstrate the advantages of using drones for collecting demographic data in understudied habitats such as coastal ecosystems.

Demographic processes in socially structured populations

2021 ◽  
pp. 341-350
Author(s):  
Maria Paniw ◽  
Gabriele Cozzi ◽  
Stefan Sommer ◽  
Arpat Ozgul
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Population Models ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Model Complexity ◽  
Vital Rates ◽  
Integral Projection Model ◽  
Projection Model ◽  
Structured Population Models ◽  
Structured Population

In socially structured animal populations, vital rates such as survival and reproduction, are affected by complex interactions among individuals of different social ranks and among social groups. Due to this complexity, mechanistic approaches to model vital rates may be preferred over commonly used structured population models. However, mechanistic approaches come at a cost of increased modelling complexity, computational requirements, and reliance on simulated metrics, while structured population models are analytically tractable. This chapter compares different approaches to modelling population dynamics of socially structured populations. It first simulates individual-based data based on the life cycle of a hypothetical cooperative breeder and then projects population dynamics using a matrix population model (MPM), an integral projection model (IPM), and an individual-based model (IBM). The authors demonstrate that, when projecting population size or structure, the relatively simpler MPM can outperform both the IPM and IBM. However, mechanistic details parametrised in the more complex IBM are required to accurately project interactions within social groups. The R scripts in this chapter provide a roadmap to both simulate data that best describe a socially structured system and assess the level of model complexity needed to capture the dynamics of the system.

scholarly journals Demographic effects of interacting species: exploring stable coexistence under increased climatic variability in a semiarid shrub community

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana I. García-Cervigón ◽  
Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio ◽  
Adrián Escudero ◽  
Merari E. Ferrer-Cervantes ◽  
Ana M. Sánchez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Vital Rates ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Demographic Models ◽  
Shrub Community

AbstractPopulation persistence is strongly determined by climatic variability. Changes in the patterns of climatic events linked to global warming may alter population dynamics, but their effects may be strongly modulated by biotic interactions. Plant populations interact with each other in such a way that responses to climate of a single population may impact the dynamics of the whole community. In this study, we assess how climate variability affects persistence and coexistence of two dominant plant species in a semiarid shrub community on gypsum soils. We use 9 years of demographic data to parameterize demographic models and to simulate population dynamics under different climatic and ecological scenarios. We observe that populations of both coexisting species may respond to common climatic fluctuations both similarly and in idiosyncratic ways, depending on the yearly combination of climatic factors. Biotic interactions (both within and among species) modulate some of their vital rates, but their effects on population dynamics highly depend on climatic fluctuations. Our results indicate that increased levels of climatic variability may alter interspecific relationships. These alterations might potentially affect species coexistence, disrupting competitive hierarchies and ultimately leading to abrupt changes in community composition.

Demographic Characterization of Anonymous Trace Travel Data

2015 ◽  
Vol 2526 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Auld ◽  
Abolfazl (Kouros) Mohammadian ◽  
Marcelo Simas Oliveira ◽  
Jean Wolf ◽  
William Bachman
Keyword(s):  
Test Data ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Travel Demand ◽  
Null Model ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Travel Pattern ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Trace Data ◽  
Demographic Models ◽  
Pattern Information

Research was undertaken to determine whether demographic characteristics of individual travelers could be derived from travel pattern information when no information about the individual was available. This question is relevant in the context of anonymously collected travel information, such as cell phone traces, when used for travel demand modeling. Determining the demographics of a traveler from such data could partially obviate the need for large-scale collection of travel survey data, depending on the purpose for which the data were to be used. This research complements methodologies used to identify activity stops, purposes, and mode types from raw trace data and presumes that such methods exist and are available. The paper documents the development of procedures for taking raw activity streams estimated from GPS trace data and converting these into activity travel pattern characteristics that are then combined with basic land use information and used to estimate various models of demographic characteristics. The work status, education level, age, and license possession of individuals and the presence of children in their households were all estimated successfully with substantial increases in performance versus null model expectations for both training and test data sets. The gender, household size, and number of vehicles proved more difficult to estimate, and performance was lower on the test data set; these aspects indicate overfitting in these models. Overall, the demographic models appear to have potential for characterizing anonymous data streams, which could extend the usability and applicability of such data sources to the travel demand context.

scholarly journals Board diversity and financial performance: A graphical time-series approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cobus CH Taljaard ◽  
Michael JD Ward ◽  
Chris J Muller
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Fiduciary Duty ◽  
Share Price ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Board Diversity

Directors need to guide and govern companies on behalf of and for the benefit of shareholders and stakeholders. However questions remain as to whether boards with higher levels of diversity amongst directors are better equipped to fulfil their fiduciary duty than boards with lower levels of diversity. This research examines whether increased levels of diversity within boards are associated with improved financial performance to shareholders. From the literature, several theoretical frameworks that could explain why increased diversity might or might not lead to improved board performance were noted. Share returns and directors’ demographic data were collected for a sample of the largest 40 companies listed on the JSE from 2000 to 2013. This data was analysed using Muller and Ward’s (2013) investment style engine by forming portfolios of companies based on board-diversity constructs. Time-series graphs of cumulative portfolio market returns were analysed to determine if the diversity dimensions tested were associated with improved share performance. The results show that racial diversity within boards is not associated with financial performance. However, increased gender diversity and younger average board age are shown to have strong associations with improved share price performance. These findings are mainly attributed to agency-, resource dependency, human capital and signalling theories. Increased diversity is seen to bolster independence and lessen agency problems. Rising diversity levels also enlarge boards’ external networks, allowing diverse stakeholders’ needs to be accommodated and limiting dependence on strategic resources. Finally, as human capital is increased, the collection of different skills and experiences are associated with better performance. The results, based on a more robust methodology and improved data set, provide additional support to previous studies.

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