I am interested in using the detailed demographic data available for meerkats to study their population dynamics (changes in population size and composition over time).  This will involve a good deal of statistical and mathematical modelling.

The Allee effect is a phenomenon characterised by depressed population growth rates (or other measures of fitness) at low population densities.  This can be due to an inability to find mates or cooperate effectively.  Human pressures on the survival of many species highlight the potential importance of Allee effects, which may lead to accelerated decline of species threatened by other factors. 

Studies suggest that groups of obligately cooperative species are prone to Allee effects due to the interdependence of individuals, making meerkat populations a good place to look for this phenomenon.  An Allee effect has previously been suggested to occur at the group level in meerkats, and others’ work suggests that that group-level Allee effects could produce population-level Allee effects in obligate cooperators. 

I am considering on the following questions: 

1. Is it possible to ignore group structure in models of meerkat populations?  Do models incorporating environmental conditions and population-level demographic data (taking into account sex- and age-specific demographic rates but ignoring group structure) adequately describe meerkat population dynamics?  Can simpler models describe the dynamics?  Is an Allee effect observable at the population scale?

2. What do meerkat population dynamics look like at the group scale?  What demographic and environmental factors affect meerkat group size fluctuations?  How do complex demographic models compare with simpler population dynamic models in describing group dynamics?  How do individual-level processes within groups, such as behavioural differences between dominant and subordinate individuals, affect or effect the observed dynamics?  Is an Allee effect observable in group-level dynamics?

3. How do meerkats’ group-level dynamics relate to their population-level dynamics?  How much better do models incorporating group-level dynamics describe overall population dynamics than the original, naïve population-level models?  How do possible group-level Allee effects interact to produce (or fail to produce) population-level Allee effects?  What implications do the results have for studies of other cooperative breeders, studies of other species in general, and global conservation efforts?