Modeling the dynamics of inhomogeneous natural rotifer populations under toxicant exposure

Abstract

Most population models assume that individuals within a given population are identical, that is, the fundamental role of variation is ignored. Here we develop a general approach to modeling heterogeneous populations with discrete evolutionary time step. The theory is applied to population dynamics of natural rotifer populations. We show that under particular conditions the behavior of the inhomogeneous model possesses complex transition regimes, which depends both on the mean and the variance of the initial parameter distribution and the final state of the population depends on the least possible value from the domain of the parameter. The question of persistence of the population is discussed.