Citation

Read KLQ, Ashford JR. Biometrika 1968; 55(1): 211-221.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1968, Biometrika Trust, Publisher Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/biomet/55.1.211

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper is concerned with stochastic models for the representation of the development of a biological organism through recognizable distinct stages. The models are based upon the assumption that the periods spent in each stage of development, excluding the possibility of death, are independent random variables with a characteristic form of probability distribution. Within each stage the organism is liable to be taken by predators or to die from other causes, and incidents of this type are assumed to occur as events in a Poisson process. The development of the theory for various forms of distribution of the period spent in a given stage is considered, including the negative exponential and second and third order special Erlangian distributions. An example is given of the application of the proposed models to the analysis of sampling data from a study of the life cycle of the grasshopper, Corthippus parallelus.