Abstract
Dispersal is a key ecological process, that enables local populations to form spatially extended systems called metapopulations. In the present study, we investigate how dispersal affects the stability of a general metapopulation model. We find that dispersal impacts the stability of metapopulations through local patches dynamics and various dispersal behaviors (positive density-dependent dispersal, costly dispersal, social fencing of immigrants and settlement facilitation). We also show that in homogeneous metapopulations, a density-independent dispersal does not affect stability, whereas in heterogeneous ones it can yield an impact on stability, that is modulated by the spatial structure of the metapopulation.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-11 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Theoretical Biology |
Volume | 392 |
Early online date | 23 Dec 2015 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 7 Mar 2016 |
Keywords
- Generalized modelling
- Density-dependent dispersal
- Density-dependent settlement
- Network topology