Aims and objectives

Aims

The aim is to provide an intuitive understanding of the properties of model stable populations, and an understanding of their age structures and growth rates.

Objectives

After working through this module you should be able to:

• Understand the uses of stable population theory
• Generate model stable populations from a stationary (life table) population using an assumed growth rate
• Use a range of methods to calculate the intrinsic growth rate of a stable population, such as generation length, method of moments and iterative methods
• Recognise how different fertility and mortality schedules determine the age structure and growth rate of stable populations