Structural uncertainty in stochastic population models: Delayed development in the eastern barred bandicoot, Perameles gunnii

Abstract

Uncertainty about which model structure best describes the life history of a species may be a problem for the development of some population viability analysis (PVA). This paper describes the development and exploration of two structurally different stochastic population models when there is uncertainty about the life history of a species. Delayed reproduction was observed in a protected population of the small marsupial Perameles gunnii (eastern barred bandicoot) at Woodlands Historic Park, Victoria, Australia. This previously undocumented feature of P. gunnii may be considered to be either a component of the seasonal breeding cycle or it may be delayed development to sexual maturity. A del..