An Appraisal of Hughes' Time-Specific Life Table Analysis for Determining Aphid Reproductive and Mortality Rates

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The Hughes'' time specific life table analysis was applied to a simulated aphid population, generated by a discrete Leslie Matrix model and not constrained to age stability. The numbers in the first 3 instars generated estimates of the reproductive rate. An X2 value was used to express the relative systematic deviations of these numbers from apparent age stability. The estimated reproductive rates were more variable and inaccurate as the systematic errors increased. Variation of the reproductive rate used in the Matrix increased the systematic errors and the unreliability of the estimates of reproductive rates. Similar results were obtained using a semi-continuous model. A stringent test for age stability in field data shows that a stable instar distribution is never achieved. Estimating population parameters from limited samples was discussed.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: