Consider a colony of raccoons. Assume that the raccoons live at most 5 years. Divide the

Chapter 3, Problem 11

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Consider a colony of raccoons. Assume that the raccoons live at most 5 years. Divide the female population into five age groups 0-1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5 each spanning 1 year. Suppose an initial number of females is 100, and that they spread over the five age groups 40: 30 : 15 : 10: 5. Let the average birth rates per raccoon of the four age groups be 0, 5, 3, 2, 1 per year. Suppose the average survival probabilities of the five groups are 0.6, 0.4, 0.2, 0.1, and 0. Predict the population distributions for the next four years. Determine the long-term trend in population growth, and group distribution. In the long run, what percentage of the raccoons can be expected to be 3 olds? What percentage can be expected to be 1- or 2-years old?