Major questions in population ecology consider the impacts of population structure such as size, age and physiological status of individuals on population growth. A classic mathematical approach to analyze the impacts of such structure is to break down a population into discrete age classes and consider, using matrices that include survivorship between age classes and fertilities associated with each age class, how the life history parameters giving survival and fertility affect overall population growth. Such Leslie matrix models and the many extensions of these have been critical means to develop life history theory, investigate harvesting and population control methods and they serve as the basis for much of human demographical analysis. These matrix population projection methods, and similar ones which consider size or physiological status, make strong assumptions about the characteristics of individuals within each class. To expand the realism and applicability of these models to situations in which the classes are too crude an approximation because the trait characteristics of individuals within a class vary, Integral Projection Models (IPM) have been developed.
The objective of this one-credit course is to provide an overview of IPM. We will initially focus on reading the text: Data-driven Modelling of Structured Populations: A Practical Guide to the Integral Projection Model by Stephen Ellner, Dylan Childs, and Mark Rees. Springer (2016). This text is available as an e-book through the UTK Library. Participants will be expected to participate in class discussions based on the readings and registered students will be expected, in addition to actively participating in class discussions, to lead a class discussion based on a selected chapter from the text and associated additional reference papers. Participants are assumed to have some of the appropriate underlying undergraduate-level background in mathematics but are not expected to have taken courses such as Math/EEB581-2 or 681-2.
This seminar will proceed, following an introductory session by the instructor and one by Stephen Ellner, the can-author of the text, to have sessions led by participants. All registered students are expected to give a presentation either on one of the topics from the text used for the beginning of the semester, or on a topic related to the research interests of the participants that connects to the topic of the course.
This course is offered in-person and the course meeting time is 2:15-3:05PM on Fridays in Ayres 114, starting January 28. The February 4 meeting will include a session with Stephen Ellner and will be held by zoom rather than in-person. We will share documents using the Basecamp group for the seminar. In addition to attending class, registered participants are expected to share their understanding of the topic they have chosen.