This is a stage-structured population model with a census once per maturation interval. Only adults present at census contribute to the juvenile cohort at census ; each contributes new juveniles on average. Thus is an effective fecundity, including any survival of offspring needed to reach the next census. Juveniles present at do not contribute a separate birth term during this interval.
The term consists of juveniles that survive and mature into adults by the next census, so is their survival-to-maturity fraction. The term consists of surviving adults; is the adult mortality fraction per interval. All surviving juveniles leave the juvenile compartment in one step, adults remain adults, and there is no immigration or density dependence. The reproduction term is applied to adults counted at the start of the interval, rather than only to those surviving to its end.
Eliminate the juvenile variable from the stage-structured population model. Since ,
The characteristic polynomial of this linear recurrence is
so . The initial conditions give and , hence and . Therefore
The alternating term records the initial imbalance between life stages; the growing term dominates eventually.
At a nonzero fixed point of the nonlinear stage-structured population model, the adult balance gives . Substitute into the juvenile equation and cancel :
Thus
Both coordinates are positive precisely when .
A stage-structured population model tracks distinct life stages, such as juveniles and adults, with separate reproduction, survival and transition terms. A matrix update describes the linear case; density-dependent reproduction gives a nonlinear discrete dynamical system.