aae.pop: Flexible population dynamics simulations in R

Jian Yen 

1. Matrix population models (MPMs) are commonly used to address fundamental ecological questions and guide real-world management decisions. Several open-source software packages support the fundamental analysis of MPMs, but few options exist to simulate from models that include realistic ecological complexity, such as density dependence, covariate effects, and interspecific interactions.

2. The aae.pop R package is a plug-and-play tool to simulate from MPMs. Originally developed for applications in aquatic ecology (“aae”), the package enables simulations of population dynamics incorporating a range of processes, such as external environmental forcing, density dependence, interspecific interactions, and harvest or release of individuals.

3. aae.pop provides a general framework for simulating from MPMs. This framework is described here, and illustrated with two case studies on freshwater fish populations in south-eastern Australia.

4. Models developed in aae.pop are easily shared, fully reproducible, and updateable. These features mean that aae.pop can support transparent and defensible applications of MPMs. Given its explicit focus on applications, aae.pop complements existing R packages for the analysis of MPMs.