Analysis of lethal and sublethal impacts of environmental disasters on sperm whales using stochastic modeling.

ABSTRACT: Mathematical models are essential for combining data from multiple sources to quantify population endpoints. This is especially true for species, such as marine mammals, for which data on vital rates are difficult to obtain. Since the effects of an environmental disaster are not fixed, we develop time-varying (nonautonomous) matrix population models that account for the eventual recovery of the environment to the pre-disaster state. We use these models to investigate how lethal and sublethal impacts (in the form of reductions in the survival and fecundity, respectively) affect the population's recovery process. We explore two scenarios of the environmental recovery process and include the effect of demographic stochasticity. Our results provide insights into the relationship between the ma

SUBMITTER: Ackleh AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5496980 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature