Wednesday, August 5, 2009 - 1:30 PM  OOS 28-1: Phenology,
stochasticity, and the demography of plant populations  Hal
Caswell, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution   Plants in
seasonal environments exhibit phenological patterns in growth,
survival, development, and reproduction. These phenological
patterns are an example of multiple time scales (one seasonal
and intra-annual, the other inter-annual) in population growth.
The goal of demographic analysis is to incorporate these
multiple time scales and extract their consequences. The problem
is particularly challenging in annual or short-lived plants, but
also applies in long-lived perennials. The methods appropriate
to these analyses include periodic matrix population models,
matrix calculus, and extensions of loop analysis.
Results/Conclusions Application of these methods yields new
results on population growth rate, net reproductive rate, life
expectancy, and sensitivity analysis in deterministic and
stochastic environments. These results make it possible t