A metapopulation model with Markovian landscape dynamics

R McVinish; P K Pollett; Y S Chan

doi:10.1016/j.tpb.2016.08.005

A metapopulation model with Markovian landscape dynamics

Theor Popul Biol. 2016 Dec:112:80-96. doi: 10.1016/j.tpb.2016.08.005. Epub 2016 Aug 31.

Authors

R McVinish¹, P K Pollett², Y S Chan²

Affiliations

¹ School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: r.mcvinish@uq.edu.au.
² School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland, Australia.

PMID: 27591978
DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2016.08.005

Abstract

We study a variant of Hanski's incidence function model that allows habitat patch characteristics to vary over time following a Markov process. The widely studied case where patches are classified as either suitable or unsuitable is included as a special case. For large metapopulations, we determine a recursion for the probability that a given habitat patch is occupied. This recursion enables us to clarify the role of landscape dynamics in the survival of a metapopulation. In particular, we show that landscape dynamics affects the persistence and equilibrium level of the metapopulation primarily through its effect on the distribution of a local population's life span.

Keywords: Dynamic landscape; Equilibrium; Incidence function model; Markov dual process; Persistence.

MeSH terms

Ecosystem*
Markov Chains
Models, Biological*
Population Dynamics*