Distinguishing between determinate and indeterminate growth in a long-lived mammal

Table 1 Parameters for height growth curves

Curve	n	H∞ (cm)	K	t ₀
Averaged female, captive only	170	220	0.020	−1.93
Averaged female, wild and captive	240	222	0.018	−1.96
Longitudinal female, captive and historic	22	218	0.017	−1.89
Averaged male, captive only	159	243	0.006	−2.20
Averaged male, wild and captive	189	244	0.005	−2.23
Longitudinal male, captive and historic	26	240	0.003	−2.17

Von Bertalanffy curve parameters: h _t = H∞(1-e(−K(t-t ₀))), where h _t is the height of an individual at each age, H∞ is the asymptotic (final) height of the population, K is the yearly growth rate, and t ₀ is the theoretical age at which height will be zero. Whilst the asymptotes of the curves are not statistically reached within the age range of the sampled elephants (0–71), this is a likely result of a lack of a fully longitudinal dataset that would span the entire lives of a large number of elephants

ISSN: 2730-7182