Floater survival affects population persistence. The role of prey availability and environmental stochasticity
Authored by V Penteriani, F Otalora, M Ferrer
Date Published: 2005
DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13514.x
Sponsors:
European Union
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
We develop two individual-based models using a large and detailed data
set (information gathered over more than a century) on a population of a
longlived and territorial predator, the Spanish imperial eagle. We
investigated the relationship between survival and predator pressure, prey behaviour and patch availability (i.e. settlement areas). Survival
of dispersing individuals was highly dependent on the number of
available settlement areas, mediated by prey availability. Changes in
prey behaviour due to predation pressure (e.g. shifting from diurnal to
nocturnal activity) can decrease their availability for predators even
if the density significantly exceeds the predator needs. Environmental
stochasticity had a strong influence on population viability when it
occurred in a synchroneous way between breeding and settlement areas, and an increase in floater mortality negatively influenced stability and
dynamics of the breeding segment of populations in reproductive areas.
Our simulations demonstrated the link between the dynamics in settlement
and breeding areas: factors affecting floater survival also influence
whole population dynamics. Moreover, model outputs provided insights
into the relationship between environmental stochasticity and population
dynamics.
Tags
models
habitat destruction
Rates
Density
Age
Metapopulation dynamics
Dispersal behavior
Extinction times
Spanish imperial eagle
Aquila-adalberti