Population dynamics in spatially complex environments: theory and data

作者：Peter Kareiva · 发表于：Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · 年份：1990 · DOI：10.1098/rstb.1990.0191 · 被引用次数：814 · 研究领域：Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models、Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Abstract Population dynamics and species interactions are spread out in space. This might seem like a trivial observation, but it has potentially important consequences. In particular, mathematical models show that the dynamics of populations can be altered fundamentally simply because organisms interact and disperse rather than being confined to one position for their entire lives. Models that deal with dispersal and spatially distributed populations are extraordinarily varied, partly because they employ three distinct characterizations of space: as ‘islands’ (or ‘metapopulations’), as ‘stepping-stones’, or as a continuum. Moreover, there are several different ways of representing dispersal in spatially structured environments, as well as several possibilities for allowing environmental variation to come into play. In spite of this variety, a few common themes emerge from spatial models. First, island and stepping-stone models emphasize that little can be concluded from simply recording patterns of’ occupancy, instead a metapopulation’s fate will be determined by the balance between local extinction and recolonization and how that balance interacts with random catastrophes. Island and stepping-stone models also make it clear that the spatial dimension, in particular spatial subdivision, can alter the stability of species interactions and opportunities for coexistence in both predator—prey and competitive systems. Continuum models, which usually take the form of reaction-diff...