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Defining patch contribution in source-sink metapopulations: the importance of including dispersal and its relevance to marine systems

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Population Ecology

An Erratum to this article was published on 13 August 2009

Abstract

In metapopulations, individual patch contribution (source or sink) is typically calculated as a patch growth rate (the “intrinsic” lambda, λI) dependent only upon local demographics. We demonstrate that when dispersal is explicitly included in the model, the growth rates for all patches calculated in an analogous manner (the “observed” lambda, λO) equilibrate to the overall metapopulation growth rate and thus no longer serve as a useful reflection of the demographic and dispersive characteristics of a given patch. In these situations we suggest an alternative method of estimating patch contribution (the “contribution” lambda, λC) in which a patch is decremented for losses that occur within it and credited for gains that occur anywhere in the metapopulation because of it. We compare values of λI, λO, and λC for individual patches in discrete-time density-independent metapopulation models of two organisms with very different life histories, mayflies with adult dispersal, and reef fish with larval dispersal. Results confirm that when dispersal is included only λC clearly indicates the contribution of a particular patch. λI−λC comparisons indicate that inclusion of dispersal in the mayfly model was only important if connectivity patterns were random or directional. In the reef fish model, however, results were very different when dispersal was included and there were many cases of patches being misidentified (e.g., as a source when it was really a sink) depending upon the metric used (λI or λC). Our results demonstrate the importance of including dispersal in metapopulation models when considering the contribution of individual patches.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank S. Lyman, L. Botsford, and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable input to this manuscript. Funding was provided to W.F.F. by the Duke University Marine Lab Fellowship and McCurdy Endowment Funds. We also thank Environmental Defense, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Sloan Census of Marine Life, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for support.

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  1. Will F. Figueira

    Present address: Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Technology, PO Box 123, Broadway, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Duke Center for Marine Conservation, Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA

    Will F. Figueira & Larry B. Crowder

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  1. Will F. Figueira
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  2. Larry B. Crowder
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Correspondence to Will F. Figueira.

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An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10144-009-0173-1.

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Figueira, W.F., Crowder, L.B. Defining patch contribution in source-sink metapopulations: the importance of including dispersal and its relevance to marine systems. Popul Ecol 48, 215–224 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10144-006-0265-0

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