Population dynamics is a topic in ecology and evolutionary biology that investigates the temporal and spatial variation in population size, structure, and composition, and the processes that drive these changes. It focuses on birth, death, immigration, and emigration rates and their dependence on intrinsic factors (e.g., life-history traits, density dependence, genetic structure) and extrinsic factors (e.g., climate, resources, species interactions). Quantitative population dynamics research employs mathematical and statistical models—such as exponential, logistic, and age-structured models, matrix population models, and stochastic simulations—to analyze stability, persistence, extinction risk, and responses to environmental perturbations or management interventions.
Coyotes may be building dens and having litters of pups near you, according to new research from the University of Georgia. But chances are you won't see them—even if they are denning right next door. In one of the first ...
Plants & Animals
6 hours ago
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If you follow media coverage of koalas, you could be forgiven for feeling confused. Recent stories describe a "koala paradox": endangered in the north of Australia, abundant in the south; genetically diverse in some regions, ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 6, 2026
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A new study reveals that habitat fragmentation can lead to sudden "tipping points" where a species' genetic health unexpectedly collapses after appearing stable for long periods. By merging network theory with population ...
Ecology
Mar 5, 2026
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If a tree falls in the forest, it can create an opening for more incoming light, and that makes a significant impact on the surrounding environment, according to new research. An international science team has used supercomputer ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 4, 2026
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New research from the University of St Andrews published in Current Biology has shown that the role of age in male humpback whale reproduction has changed as populations recover from centuries of exploitation. Whaling drove ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 27, 2026
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Strong social networking plays an important role in human relationships. New research on female red deer shows that those bonds are also crucial for their reproductive success and survival. The study, which looked at more ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 19, 2026
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An ecosystem is not a still life. Even where everything looks stable—a woodland, a lake, the soil—the internal "bookkeeping" keeps changing: how many individuals belong to which species, and for how long. Some populations ...
Evolution
Feb 18, 2026
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Imagine an asteroid striking Earth and wiping out most of the human population. Even if some lucky people survived the impact, Homo sapiens might still face extinction, because the social networks humans rely on would collapse.
Plants & Animals
Feb 5, 2026
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Despite decades of independent progress in population ecology and movement ecology, researchers have lacked a theoretical bridge between these two disciplines. "Ecologists have been trying to establish this link since the ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 5, 2026
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Should we protect an emblematic species if it may come at the cost of another one—particularly in ecosystems that are still recovering from human impacts? This is the conservation dilemma facing Monte Leon National Park, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 4, 2026
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