Allee Effects and Density Dependent Dispersal Interact to Generate Variable Invasion Speed
Presenter(s)
Michael Neubert
Abstract
The speed at which a population spreads as it invades new habitat is a fundamental quantity in both theoretical and applied population biology. Mathematical theory predicts that the invasion speed often is asymptotically constant and is determined by the vital rates and dispersal behavior of individuals at the low-density leading edge of the invasion wave. These results rest on two important assumptions: (1) the dispersal behavior of individuals does not depend upon density, and (2) the absence of Allee effects (i.e., positive density dependence in the vital rates). Numerical simulations indicate that for realistic dispersal models the population asymptotically spreads at a constant speed when either dispersal is density dependent or there are Allee effects. To see if this result holds in the face of both Allee effects and density-dependent dispersal we formulated an integrodifference equation that includes both.
We found that, in contrast with simpler models, there are cases in which the population does not spread at a constant rate. In these cases, the invasion speed oscillates, sometimes with large amplitude. In the extreme, when Allee effects are strong and the propensity for individuals to disperse increases with density, the invasion speed can alternate sign, indicating alternation between population spread and contraction. Such oscillations have been documented previously in models with environmental variability. Our results establish that oscillating rates of population spread can also be generated by the interaction between Allee effects and density-dependent dispersal in a constant environment.
Topic
Species Dispersion
Start Date
6-15-2016 4:00 PM
End Date
6-15-2016 4:20 PM
Room
High Country Conference Center
Recommended Citation
Neubert, Michael; Sullivan, Lauren; Shaw, Allison; Miller, Tom E. X.; and Li, Bingtuan, "Allee Effects and Density Dependent Dispersal Interact to Generate Variable Invasion Speed" (2016). World Conference on Natural Resource Modeling. 14.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/rma/all/presentations/14
Allee Effects and Density Dependent Dispersal Interact to Generate Variable Invasion Speed
High Country Conference Center
The speed at which a population spreads as it invades new habitat is a fundamental quantity in both theoretical and applied population biology. Mathematical theory predicts that the invasion speed often is asymptotically constant and is determined by the vital rates and dispersal behavior of individuals at the low-density leading edge of the invasion wave. These results rest on two important assumptions: (1) the dispersal behavior of individuals does not depend upon density, and (2) the absence of Allee effects (i.e., positive density dependence in the vital rates). Numerical simulations indicate that for realistic dispersal models the population asymptotically spreads at a constant speed when either dispersal is density dependent or there are Allee effects. To see if this result holds in the face of both Allee effects and density-dependent dispersal we formulated an integrodifference equation that includes both.
We found that, in contrast with simpler models, there are cases in which the population does not spread at a constant rate. In these cases, the invasion speed oscillates, sometimes with large amplitude. In the extreme, when Allee effects are strong and the propensity for individuals to disperse increases with density, the invasion speed can alternate sign, indicating alternation between population spread and contraction. Such oscillations have been documented previously in models with environmental variability. Our results establish that oscillating rates of population spread can also be generated by the interaction between Allee effects and density-dependent dispersal in a constant environment.