Congruent Genetic and Demographic Dispersal Rates in a Natural Metapopulation at Equilibrium

Area of Science:

• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Conservation Genetics
• Metapopulation Dynamics

Background:

• Understanding metapopulation dynamics is crucial for ecological modeling and conservation.
• Dispersal rate is a key metric, but direct and indirect estimation methods may not align.
• The butterfly Boloria eunomia serves as a model for studying natural metapopulations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the genetic structure, dispersal dynamics, and demographic stability of a Belgian Boloria eunomia metapopulation.
• To compare direct field estimates with indirect genetic assessments of dispersal rates.
• To explore eco-evolutionary mechanisms underlying metapopulation stability.

Main Methods:

• Field study of a large natural metapopulation over three generations.
• Synchronized demographic and genetic data collection.
• Comparison of census and effective population sizes and dispersal estimates.

Main Results:

• Evidence of metapopulation stability: constant population size rankings and stable genetic structure.
• Geographically influenced dispersal patterns observed.
• Contemporary dispersal estimates from direct and genetic methods showed agreement.

Conclusions:

• The Boloria eunomia metapopulation exhibits remarkable stability.
• Long-term adaptation to a dynamic environment may explain stability by mitigating fluctuations.
• Methodological improvements for aligning demographic and genetic dispersal estimates are proposed.