On the evolution of dispersal via heterogeneity in spatial connectivity

Authored by Renato Henriques-Silva, Frederic Boivin, Vincent Calcagno, Mark C Urban, Pedro R Peres-Neto

Date Published: 2015

DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2879

Sponsors: National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) James S. McDonnell Foundation

Platforms: MATLAB

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Dispersal has long been recognized as a mechanism that shapes many observed ecological and evolutionary processes. Thus, understanding the factors that promote its evolution remains a major goal in evolutionary ecology. Landscape connectivity may mediate the trade-off between the forces in favour of dispersal propensity (e.g. kin-competition, local extinction probability) and those against it (e.g. energetic or survival costs of dispersal). It remains, however, an open question how differing degrees of landscape connectivity may select for different dispersal strategies. We implemented an individual-based model to study the evolution of dispersal on landscapes that differed in the variance of connectivity across patches ranging from networks with all patches equally connected to highly heterogeneous networks. The parthenogenetic individuals dispersed based on a flexible logistic function of local abundance. Our results suggest, all else being equal, that landscapes differing in their connectivity patterns will select for different dispersal strategies and that these strategies confer a long-term fitness advantage to individuals at the regional scale. The strength of the selection will, however, vary across network types, being stronger on heterogeneous landscapes compared with the ones where all patches have equal connectivity. Our findings highlight how landscape connectivity can determine the evolution of dispersal strategies, which in turn affects how we think about important ecological dynamics such as metapopulation persistence and range expansion.

Tags

Individual-based model behavior Network Structure Landscape connectivity Density-dependent dispersal Metapopulation Rates Structured populations Quantitative-analysis Kin competition