Strong effect of dispersal network structure on ecological dynamics

Matthew D. Holland () and Alan Hastings
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Matthew D. Holland: University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA
Alan Hastings: University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA

Nature, 2008, vol. 456, issue 7223, 792-794

Abstract: Predator versus prey: corridors of uncertainty A central question for ecologists is how interactions between predator and prey affect an ecosystem as a whole. How, for example, is the cyclic dynamics of lemmings and their predators influenced by the predators' taste for lemmings, as opposed to other prey? Using a numerical model, Matthew Holland and Alan Hastings show that by focusing on ecologically relevant interactions — smaller systems in which interactions are strong — it is possible to simulate ecosystems that favour asynchrony of predator and prey cycles, with prolonged transient dynamics, just as ecologists observe in nature. One implication is that corridors linking disconnected habitat fragments should have a degree of asymmetry, mimicking the natural environment.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07395

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