Matthiopoulos, Leslie New, and Len

Biologically Significant Marine Mammal Behavior ’ proposed a framework, which they called PCAD- Population Consequences of Acoustic Disturbance, that uses a series of transfer functions to link behavioural responses to sound with life functions, vital rates, and population change. The Committee suggested that the best understood transfer functions are those linking vital rates to population change. One of the main aims of this report is to document that understanding. However, we also show how the existing frameworks for modelling the dynamics of marine mammal populations can be extended to include the effects of behavioural responses on vital rates. In Chapter 1 we introduce the central concept of the rate of increase ( ) of a population, which we believe is the most useful measure of the effects of behavioural responses on the dynamics of a population. If the value of exceeds one, then the population will increase over time; if it is less than one it will decrease. We show how changes in provide a measure of the impact of human activities (such as exploitation, conservation, or disturbance) on a population. We also introduce structured population models, which take account of the fact that all individuals in a population are no