Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2025
12:44
Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework
Published on: July 24, 2016
7.9K
Structured Demographic Buffering: A Framework to Explore the Environmental Components and Demographic Mechanisms
Samuel J L Gascoigne1,2, Maja Kajin1,3, Shripad Tuljapurkar4
1Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Ecology Letters
|February 26, 2025
Summary
Natural populations can buffer environmental stochasticity through demographic buffering. This study reveals that environmental variance, not autocorrelation, most influences buffering, impacting population structure and rates differently.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Population Dynamics
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Environmental stochasticity critically affects population viability.
- Natural populations exhibit demographic buffering to mitigate environmental unpredictability.
- Understanding the drivers of demographic buffering remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a framework for assessing environmental components influencing demographic buffering.
- To investigate the demographic mechanisms underlying these impacts.
- To differentiate the roles of environmental variance and autocorrelation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized integral projection models (IPMs).
- Analyzed temporal autocorrelation and variance in demographic rates.
- Examined population structure and demographic rates as mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Demographic buffering is more sensitive to environmental variance than autocorrelation.
- Environmental variance impacts demographic buffering via demographic rates.
- Environmental autocorrelation influences demographic buffering through population structure.
Conclusions:
- Environmental variance is a stronger driver of demographic buffering than autocorrelation.
- Distinct environmental components operate through different demographic mechanisms.
- This framework advances our understanding of population resilience to environmental change.
Keywords:
environmental variabilityintegral projection models (IPMs)life history strategiesstochastic demographyMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:23Mechanistic Models: Compartment Models in Individual and Population Analysis
24
Mechanistic models are utilized in individual analysis using single-source data, but imperfections arise due to data collection errors, preventing perfect prediction of observed data. The mathematical equation involves known values (Xi), observed concentrations (Ci), measurement errors (εi), model parameters (ϕj), and the related function (ƒi) for i number of values. Different least-squares metrics quantify differences between predicted and observed values. The ordinary least...
24
01:22Applications of Life Tables
45
Life tables are versatile across various fields, providing a quantitative basis for analyzing mortality and survival rates. Whether used by demographers, actuaries, epidemiologists, or sociologists, life tables offer valuable insights into the dynamics of life and death, facilitating informed decisions in public health, insurance, conservation, and beyond. Their broad applicability highlights the interconnectedness of demographic data with practical outcomes in everyday life and strategic...
45
01:25Strategies for Assessing and Addressing Confounding
79
Confounding is a critical issue in epidemiological studies, often leading to misleading conclusions about associations between exposures and outcomes. It occurs when the relationship between the exposure and the outcome is mixed with the effects of other factors that influence the outcome. Given that, addressing confounding is of high importance for drawing accurate inferences in research.
Confounding can be addressed at both the design phase of a study and through analytical methods after data...
Confounding can be addressed at both the design phase of a study and through analytical methods after data...
79
02:29Hybrid Zones
16.7K
Hybrid zones are narrow regions where two closely related species interact, mate, and produce hybrids. Relative to either parent species, hybrids may possess distinct phenotypic or genetic differences that impact their survival and reproductive success. The genetic variances introduced by hybridization influence species diversity and speciation processes within the hybrid zone.
16.7K
02:31Habitat Fragmentation
17.4K
Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.
17.4K
02:55Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
89.9K
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who...
89.9K