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Breeding durations as estimators of adult sex ratios and population size
Citation
Payne, NL and Gillanders, BM and Semmens, JM, Breeding durations as estimators of adult sex ratios and population size, Oecologia, 165, (2) pp. 341-347. ISSN 0029-8549 (2011) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright © Springer-Verlag 2010. The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.com
DOI: doi:10.1007/s00442-010-1729-7
Abstract
Adult sex ratios (ASRs) and population size are
two of the most fundamental parameters in population
biology, as they are the main determinants of genetic and
demographic viability, and vulnerability of a population to
stochastic events. Underpinning the application of population
viability analysis for predicting the extinction risk of
populations is the need to accurately estimate parameters
that determine the viability of populations (i.e. the ASR
and population size). Here we demonstrate that a lack of
temporal information can confound estimation of both
parameters. Using acoustic telemetry, we compared differences
in breeding durations of both sexes for a giant
Australian cuttlefish Sepia apama breeding aggregation to
the strongly male-biased operational sex ratio (4:1), in
order to estimate the population ASR. The ratio of breeding
durations between sexes was equal to the operational sex
ratio, suggesting that the ASR is not strongly male-biased,
but balanced. Furthermore, the short residence times of
individuals at the breeding aggregation suggests that previous
density-based abundance estimates have significantly
underestimated population size. With the current wide
application of population viability analysis for predicting
the extinction risk of populations, tools to improve the
accuracy of such predictions are vital. Here we provide a
new approach to estimating the fundamental ASR parameter,
and call for temporal considerations when estimating
population size.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Acoustic telemetry Breeding aggregation Operational sex ratio Sepia apama Viability analysis |
| Research Division: | Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences |
| Research Group: | Fisheries Sciences |
| Research Field: | Fisheries Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Objective Division: | Environment |
| Objective Group: | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity |
| Objective Field: | Coastal and Estuarine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity |
| Author: | Semmens, JM (Associate Professor Jayson Semmens) |
| ID Code: | 72015 |
| Year Published: | 2011 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 14 |
| Deposited By: | Sustainable Marine Research Collaboration |
| Deposited On: | 2011-08-18 |
| Last Modified: | 2012-04-05 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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