Population (and Habitat) Viability Analysis
INTRODUCTION:
Population viability analysis (PVA) is a process of identifying the threats faced by a species and evaluating the likelihood that it will persist for a given time into the future. Population viability analysis is often oriented towards the conservation and management of rare and threatened species, with the goal of applying the principles of population ecology to improve their chances of survival. Threatened species management has two broad objectives. The short term objective is to minimize the risk of extinction. The longer term objective is to promote conditions in which species retain their potential for evolutionary change without intensive management. Within this context, PVA may be used to address three aspects of threatened species management: 1. Planning research and data collection. PVA may reveal that population viability is insensitive to particular parameters. Research may be guided by targeting factors that may have an important impact on extinction probabilities or on the rank order of management options. 2. Assessing vulnerability. Together with cultural priorities, economic imperatives and taxonomic uniqueness, PVA may be used to set policy and priorities for allocating scarce conservation resources. 3. Ranking management options. PVA may be used to predict the likely response of species to reintroduction, captive breeding, prescribed burning, weed control, habitat rehabilitation, or different designs for nature reserves or corridor networks.
VORTEX : Vortex is an individual-based simulation model for population viability analysis (PVA). This program will help you understand the effects of deterministic forces as well as demographic, environmental, and genetic stochastic (or random) events on the dynamics of wildlife populations. Vortex models population dynamics as discrete, sequential events