Optimisation Model of Dispersal Simulations on a Dendritic Habitat Network

To predict and mitigate biodiversity loss, a better understanding of species distribution and reliable dispersal models are required. A promising approach in dispersal simulation is the method of spatially explicit graph-based analysis. While graph theory is strongly connected to the field of optimisation in a variety of disciplines, the potential of optimisation has not yet been exploited in dispersal models. We introduce an optimisation model built on a graph-based dispersal simulation of an aquatic invertebrate species with a terrestrial life stage. The model simulates a directed dispersal process and investigates the fastest route to colonise predefined vacant habitat patches. The optimisation model run-time is in general an order of magnitude faster than the underlying simulation and provides the minimum time until the considered habitat patches are colonised under the given landscape structure. These results can then be used to estimate how fast newly formed habitat patches can be reached and colonised. Our model can in principle be adapted to other simulation models and can thus be seen as a pioneer of a new set of models that may support landscape conservation and restoration.