When are population dynamics models useful?

Question

When are population dynamics models useful? There seems to have been a lot of research about it, but how does it help? If I need data about how a population will evolve under what conditions, I need it because I need data for a decision (such as "can we kill 50% of population X without doing too much damage?"), right? But for that, the model needs to be aware of what causes what. And for that, I have to do experiments, right? Like "let's kill a significant amount of population X and see what happens in the next ten years". I really don't get it.

Answer 1

They are used to predict what can happen if a population increases or decreases in a community. I do not have to kill off population to record data on this. This can be observed naturally through natural processes. What happens to frogs when mosquitoes die in the winter. Etc. You can then extrapolate this data in whatever way you find useful, i.e: dont go frog hunting in the winter (if thats your thing).