Size-structured models

This chapter begins by revisiting the M’Kendrick/von Foerster model, but using size instead of age as the state variable. It then uses the lessons from that model to describe how individual growth and mortality rates determine both stand distributions (a population of mixed ages) and cohort distributions (all one age). In particular, incorporating variability in growth trajectories is shown to be important in obtaining realistic results—though it is not without pitfalls. Ultimately, the numerical calculations required to model size-structured populations for future projections are more challenging than those needed for age structure, so the chapter closes by discussing some mathematical tools that have been developed to accomplish this. These include the integral projection model, a recent approach that is very useful because, while more complex, it has a lot in common with the age-structured models examined in Chapters 3 and 4.