Short- vs. long-range disperser: the evolutionarily stable allocation in a lattice-structured habitat

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Mathematical Biology

Background:

• Population dynamics are influenced by dispersal strategies.
• Organisms must balance resource allocation between short- and long-range dispersal.
• Lattice-structured habitats present unique challenges for population spread.

Purpose of the Study:

• To calculate the evolutionarily stable allocation between short- and long-range dispersers.
• To determine invasion conditions for different dispersal strategies.
• To compare ESS allocation with optimal allocation for maximum population density.

Main Methods:

• Pair approximation to derive ordinary differential equations for population densities.
• Analysis of invasibility conditions for population types.
• Derivation of ESS for resource allocation with a linear trade-off.

Main Results:

• ESS resource allocation differs from optimal allocation maximizing population density.
• ESS favors a larger fraction for short-range dispersal compared to optimal.
• Long-range dispersers are more effective at space preoccupation.

Conclusions:

• Dispersal strategy significantly affects population dynamics and stability.
• Evolutionarily stable strategies may not align with maximizing population size.
• Computer simulations confirm theoretical predictions on dispersal strategies.