Chapter 12: Metapopulations

Question 0

Individual patches can go locally extinct due to unoccupancy

Answer 0

Extinction

Question 1

Movement of individuals from occupied patches to unoccupied patches

Answer 1

Colonization

Question 2

What four conditions define metapopulations?

Hanski 1990’s

Answer 2

Discrete patches of suitable habitat (matrix)
All have same risk of extinction and colonization
Habitat patches must not be too isolated to prevent recolonization after local extinction
Dynamics of local populations are not synchronized

Question 3

Individuals move and interact with each other in the course of their routine feeding and breeding activities

Answer 3

Local or within patch scale

Question 4

Scale which encompasses the set of local populations that compose the metapopulation

Answer 4

Regional scale

Question 5

What are the assumptions of Levin’s metapopulation model?

Answer 5

All patches are equal in size and quality of habitat
Each patch contributes equally to pool of emigrants
Emigrants have equal probability of colonizing any of the unoccupied habitat patches
Probability of local population extinction is independent of all other local populations

Question 6

High quality habitats

r > 0

Answer 6

Source habitat

Question 7

Inferior habitat

r < 0

Answer 7

Sink habitat

Question 8

Increasing population size and hence the decreasing risk of extinction that occurs with an increase rate of immigration

Answer 8

Rescue effect

Question 9

A single habitat patch is the dominant source of individuals emigrating to the other habitat patches within the metapopulation network

Answer 9

Mainland island metapopulation structure

Question 10

What are the four levels of spatial aggregation?

Answer 10

Local population (demography)
Metapopulation (movement)
Subspecies (evolution)
Species’ geographic distribution (geography)