Demographic Models for Subdivided Populations: The Renewal Equation Approach

Le Bras (Theor. Popul. Biol. 2, 100-121, 1971) and Rogers (Demography 11, 473-481, 1974), in two neglected papers, have generalized to the multisite case the Euler-Lotka renewal equation and demographic characteristics such as age structure and reproductive value. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to restate the multisite renewal equation in the matrix context; second, to derive results on age structure, net reproduction rate, generation time, and sensitivities, as generalizations of the one site case. The potential of this approach for population biology is illustrated using a model of a black-headed gull Larus ridibundus population.