Matrix Population Models: Construction, Analysis and Interpretation [Hardcover]

Hal Caswell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1989

Matrix Population Models, Second Edition includes expanded treatment of stochastic and density-dependent models, sensitivity analysis, and statistical inference, and new chapters on parameter estimation, structured population models, demographic sto-chasticity, and applications of matrix models in conservation biology. This book is an indispensable reference for graduate students and researchers in ecology, population biology, conservation biology, and human demography.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A masterful survey of an immense body of work, superbly presented by the leading authority on the topic. Highly recommended." -- Simon Levin, Princeton University

"Caswell's book will continue to contribute substantially to conservation biology and wildlife management." -- R. F. Rockwell, American Museum of Natural History

"I recommend it to colleagues and students for its careful and readable exposition of mathematical tools and real biological examples." -- Joel E. Cohen, Rockefeller and Columbia Universities

"If your research endeavors include population biology, or you teach a course in population biology, you need this text." -- Floyd W. Weckerly, Natural Resource Modeling

"The Second Edition is lively, authoritative, innovative, and wide-ranging--one of those rare 'must buy' books." -- Peter M. Kareiva, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

"This book is outstanding and deserves to be on every ecologist's bookshelf." -- Mark Kot, University of Washington --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Hal Caswell is a Senior Scientist in the Biology Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he holds the Robert W. Morse Chair for Excellence in Oceanography. He earned a Ph.D. in Zoology in 1974 at Michigan State University. In addition to Matrix Population Models, Dr. Caswell is a coauthor (with S. Tuljapurkar) of Structured Population Models in Marine, Terrestrial and Freshwater Systems (Chapman and Hall, 1997). A former Guggenheim Fellow and a Fellow of AAAS, he has also served as Chairman of the Theoretical Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America. Dr. Caswell's research interests include mathematical ecology, structured population models, stochastic models for spatial processes, conservation of marine mammals and seabirds, plant population ecology, ecotoxicology, and nonlinear dynamics in ecology. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Sinauer Associates Inc (April 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878930949
• ISBN-13: 978-0878930944
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,160,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a classic - worth the wait, January 3, 2001

By 

Evan G Cooch (Ithaca, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matrix Population Models (Hardcover)

As a graduate student many years ago, I bought the last shelf copy of the first edition to Caswell's text on matrix population models for our bookstore. After 10+ years of using the book, both in research, and teaching, I'm glad I did. The 2nd edition is a lucid and masterful update, with several nice touches that should be appreciated by both newcomers and experienced modelers. In particular, some of the more turgid text from the first edition has been clarified, and expanded, and several new very important chapters have been added (yes, using branching process theory you can handle demographic stochasticity with matrix models). A superb book, made even better by the inclusion (at last!) of some basic MATLAB code for some of the more esoteric calculations. My only complaint (related perhaps to the 'code') is that the many good 'worked examples' are not treated more fully. I'd have liked to have seen the actual matrices involved, or some further detail, in some cases, rather than a figure or table summarizing the results. However, a minor complaint - perhaps easily solved by a companion website with code for each example in the book 9something I'm probably going to do on my own, but should be standard these days for any technical text).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear and accessible introduction to population modeling, March 28, 2000

By 

Carlo Maley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matrix Population Models: Construction, Analysis and Interpretation (Paperback)

There is often a false dichotomy drawn between differential (or difference) equation models of populations and agent-based (artificial life, individual-based, configuration) models. Agent-based models can represent more of the complexity of biological systems at the expense of analytical tractability. Matrix population models form a bridge between the two approaches.

Caswell shows how you can elaborate differential equation models to represent much of the population structure and characteristics of interest within a population. His descriptions are clear and easily accessible to biologists as well as people from the more quantitative fields of science.

The new edition of this book is due out in April 2000. I am looking forward to it.