Comparison of logistic equations for population growth.

Two different forms of the logistic equation for population growth appear in the ecological literature. In the form of the logistic equation that appears in recent ecology textbooks the parameters are the instantaneous rate of natural increase per individual and the carrying capacity of the environment. In the form of the logistic equation that appears in some older literature the parameters are the instantaneous birth rate per individual and the carrying capacity. The decision whether to use one form or the other depends on which form of the equation is biologically more realistic. In this study the form of the logistic equation in which the instantaneous birth rate per individual is a parameter is shown to be more realistic in terms of the birth and death processes of population growth. Application of the logistic equation to calculate yield from an exploited fish population also shows that the parameters must be the instantaneous birth rate per individual and the carrying capacity.