An Uncertain Life: Demography in Random Environments

This paper concisely reviews the demography of populations with random vital rates, highlights examples and techniques which yield insight into population dynamics, summarizes the state of significant applications of the theory, and points to open problems. The central picture in this theory is of a time-varying but statistically stationary equilibrium for population, sharply distinct from the notions of classical demography. The deepest biological insights from the theory reveal the temporal structure of life histories to be a rich arena for natural selection.