A persistence criterion for metapopulations.
نویسندگان
چکیده
Simple conditions to evaluate the persistence of populations living in fragmented habitats are of primary importance in ecology. We address this need here using a spatially implicit approach that accounts for discrete individuals in a metapopulation. Demographic stochasticity is incorporated into a Markovian model in a natural way, as local extinction is characterized by the death or the dispersal of the last individual inhabiting a patch. The variables of the model are the probabilities p(i) (i=0, 1, 2...) that a patch be occupied by a finite, integer number i of individuals at a given time. We compare the stationary distributions predicted by the model with field data and discuss the role of dispersal in determining different distributions of local abundances. The analysis of the model leads to a persistence criterion which is equivalent to a condition formerly proved by Chesson (Z. Wahrscheinlichkeitstheor. 66, 97-107, 1984) namely that E(0)>1, where E(0) is the expected number of successful dispersers from a patch begun with one individual and to which immigration is excluded. We provide an analytic way of computing E(0) as a function of the main biological characteristics of the species (natality, mortality and dispersal rates, and colonizing ability). We can thus obtain persistence-extinction boundaries in the space of model parameters.
منابع مشابه
New approaches of source-sink metapopulations decoupling the roles of demography and dispersal
Source-sink systems are metapopulations of habitat patches with different, and possibly temporally varying, habitat qualities, which are commonly used in ecology to study the fate of spatially extended natural populations. We propose new techniques that allow to disentangle the respective contributions of demography and dispersal to the dynamics and fate of a single species in a source-sink met...
متن کاملThe inflationary effects of environmental fluctuations ensure the persistence of sink metapopulations.
Under current rates of environmental change many populations may be found in habitats of low quality and low conservation value, creating population sinks. We test recent theory that suggests, surprisingly, that stochastic environmental variability may enhance the long-term persistence of sink metapopulations. Using experimental populations of Paramecium aurelia we show that it is possible for ...
متن کاملRefugia and connectivity sustain amphibian metapopulations afflicted by disease.
Metapopulation persistence in fragmented landscapes depends on habitat patches that can support resilient local populations and sufficient connectivity between patches. Yet epidemiological theory for metapopulations has largely overlooked the capacity of particular patches to act as refuges from disease, and has suggested that connectivity can undermine persistence. Here, we show that relativel...
متن کاملA Method for Optimizing a Metapopulation
Metapopulations are a popular way to gain an abstract model of a certain species in a scattered landscape. These models can be used for analytical questions concerning the viability of the modeled species. Several applications exist that evaluate metapopulations concerning their persistence, e.g. Meta-X. There is a strong interest in discovering modifications of the environment, that have a pos...
متن کاملMetapopulation persistence in a dynamic landscape: more habitat or better stewardship?
Habitat loss and fragmentation has created metapopulations where there were once continuous populations. Ecologists and conservation biologists have become interested in the optimal way to manage and conserve such metapopulations. Several authors have considered the effect of patch disturbance and recovery on metapopulation persistence, but almost all such studies assume that every patch is equ...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Theoretical population biology
دوره 61 2 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2002