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Graduation Term

2016

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Mathematics

Committee Chair

Olcay Akman

Abstract

Today, there are hundreds of species of rare flowering plants in North America and it is a particular concern to conservation biologists interested in preserving species diversity. However if there are particular inherit demographic characteristics leading to the rarity and potential extinction of these species, this is less understood. For example, a rare species may be more sensitive to demographic stochastcity than a more abundant species. We propose a particular rare species, Eupatorium reinosum, is more adversely affected by stochastic reproduction than a related common species, Eupatorium perfoliatum. In this study, we compare these two species including three populations within each species by using stochastic Leslie matrices to assess demographic data. Here, Leslie matrices will be used to determine the population dynamics and predict population growth. The information collected from this study will allow us to generalize the Leslie matrix approach in other plant species and contribute to the ecological research.

KEYWORDS: Leslie matrix, Eupatorium reinosum, Eupatorium perfoliatum, demography.

Access Type

Thesis-ISU Access Only

DOI

http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2016.Niu.L

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