Models for management of wildlife populations: lessons from spectacled bears in zoos and grizzly bears in Yellowstone

Models of population dynamics are frequently used in the management and conservation of wildlife populations. They provide a powerful method of quantitatively assessing a population's risk of decline and determining the potential to reverse the decline. Models from recent studies of managed populations are presented. The first model simulates the spectacled bear populations maintained in American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) zoos. The second model simulates the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The article concludes with a discussion of system dynamics modeling in the larger context of population dynamics modeling. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.