The Stochastic Simulation of Tribolium Populations

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A mathematical imita-tion of Tribolium castaneum. known as pseudo-Tribolium castaneum is defined in accordance with the biological characteristics of the real beetle. Pseudo-Tribolium is a 4-stage cannibalistic animal. Four genetic strains are distinguished. Lengths of stages, amount of cannibalism, fecundity and fertility are all random variables. Four female and 4 male pseudo-beetles are allowed to breed freely. The resulting populations, observed over the equivalent of a 3-year period, exhibit temporal patterns similar to those for the real beetle. Population abundance may be altered at will by changes in the egg-dropping rate or the voracity probabilities.