Week 7- Draft 4

In this population lambda changes slightly over time, starting at 1.41 before dropping down to 1.34 and rising again to 1.43 where this value becomes regulated. This indicates that the population growth rate drops before becoming regulated. This compares to the growth of the hypothetical population described in Figure 10.8 as 10.8.B indicates that the population growth rate drops from an initial point before rising again and then becoming regulated. While in this figure there is more fluctuation in the growth rate overall, and there exists two larger drops in growth rate before regulation, the pattern of a growth drop-off before growth regulation is still reflected in both examples. I predict the population will continue to grow steadily as the lambda also known as the growth rate remains constant. The population will continue to grow in future years with the age-specific survival rates not changing. However, such growth cannot extend on forever, at some point the population will reach its carrying capacity in which resources are limited to a point where further population cannot be sustainably maintained. Population growth around this time will drop to the point where the population is maintained steadily as resource constraints will reel in any spikes in population size and/or growth.