Summary
It is illustrated theoretically that in a heterogeneous habitat the dispersal of individuals, even when it is random and density-independent, may have a pronounced effect of raising the average reproductive rate of the whole population, in addition to the effect of stabilization in the usual sense of reducing its variance. This implies that in such a population the habitat instability has been converted by dispersal into a condition profitable for the population. The role played by dispersal here is therefore regarded as much more positive than that which the expression ‘spreading of risk’ usually means.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boer PJ den (1968) Spreading of risk and stabilization of animal numbers. Acta Biotheoret 18:165–194
Levin SA (1976) Population dynamic models in heterogeneous environments. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 7:287–310
Lewontin RC, Cohen D (1969) On population growth in a randomly varying environment. Proc Nat Acad Sci 62:1056–1060
May RM (1974) Stability and complexity in model ecosystems (second edition). Princeton University Press, Princeton
Reddingius J, Boer PJ den (1970) Simulation experiments illustrating stabilization of animal numbers by spreading of risk. Oecologia (Berl) 5:240–284
Roff DA (1974a) Spatial heterogeneity and the persistence of populations. Oecologia (Berl) 15:245–258
Roff DA (1974b) The analysis of a population model demonstrating the importance of dispersal in a heterogeneous environment. Oecologia (Berl) 15:259–275
Southwood TRE (1977) Habitat, the templet for ecological strategies? J Anim Ecol 46:337–365
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kuno, E. Dispersal and the persistence of populations in unstable habitats: A theoretical note. Oecologia 49, 123–126 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00376909
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00376909