This routine draws a diagram of the life cycle using the values in a projection matrix. It is most suitable for simple matrices which are normally represented as a linear row of nodes, eg Leslie matrices. The following shows the standard output for a 3 x 3 matrix:
| 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | | ||
| 0.5 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
If you colour the font of the input matrix, you will get a result like this:
| 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 |  | ||
| 0.5 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
You can set the size of the nodes so that the area is proportional to the age structure or reproductive value, as shown here:
| 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 |  | ||
| 0.5 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
You can set the width of the arrows so that are proportional to the vital rates, as shown here:
| 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 |  | ||
| 0.5 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
or you can set the width of the arrows to be proportional to a selected matrix (eg, the elasticities):
| 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 |  | ||
| 0.5 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
Cool, huh!