The following equation is used to calculate the population growth rate, Ro, per generation from a life table. Iy is survival probability from birth to age x and my is fecundity at age x. Ro = Elkm...

Extracted text: The following equation is used to calculate the population growth rate, Ro, per generation from a life table. Iy is survival probability from birth to age x and my is fecundity at age x. Ro = Elkm Multiplying ly and my and summing it over all age categories in the life table gives the population growth rate per generation because: Calculating the reproductive output for each age class requires considering the survival probability to that age (a dead individual does not reproduce) and the fecundity at that age by multiplying them with each other. Summing over reproductive output for all age classes gives the total per capita growth rate of the population The fecundity at each age is lower when the survival is higher because of energy constraints. Multiplying probability of survival and fecundity in each age class takes this trade-off into account. Summing over reproductive output for all age classes gives the total per capita growth rate of the population The resulting type of growth from a life table is exponential, and the product of survival probability and fecundity is an exponential equation. Therefore, summing over this product for all age classes results in exponential growth Each age class x is a generation and summing the product of probability of survival in that generation by fecundity of that generation leads to the reproductive output of that generation. Summing over all generations equals the total population growth rate