Metapopulation Biology
A course in the Biological Interactions
Graduate School;
Intermediate/Advanced undergraduate course
EKOL3121 (1 ov)
Much of the classic ecological
theory focuses on processes within populations, often assuming that each
population is effectively isolated. In contrast, metapopulation biology
considers the interactions between local populations, which often prove to be
vital for the population dynamics, evolution, and conservation of species and
of communities. This course gives a theoretical overview of metapopulation
ecology and evolution in metapopulations. For example, may a species be viable
if each and every local population is eventually doomed to go extinct? How does
dispersal between local populations affect population dynamics? Dispersal is
costly - why disperse at all? What are the consequences of habitat loss? Shall
we get advance warning before extinction of species or collapse of communities?
What determines the range of a species? Do different local environments
facilitate speciation via specialisation? The aim of the course is to discuss
some basics of metapopulation biology and then provide insight into some of the
"hot topics" of current research, bridging the gap by heuristic
insight into the workings of models.
The course consists of 11
lectures (22 hours in total) and will be given in an intense form between 8 and
12 December 2003.
Place: Genetics seminar room,
Luonnontieteiden talo II, 4th floor, room #401
Time schedule:
note: On Monday, we start at 12:15. Exact starts/breaks as
well as the time of the exam will be discussed on Monday.
|
9-11 |
12-14 |
14-16 |
8 December (Monday) |
|
X |
X |
9 December (Tuesday) |
|
X |
X |
10 December (Wednesday) |
X |
X |
X |
11 December (Thursday) |
|
X |
X |
12 December (Friday) |
X |
X |
|
Contact: Eva Kisdi (Department of Mathematics,
room 451)
Office hour: Wednesday 15-16 (but welcome any time), phone: 333 5686, e-mail
address: eva.kisdi@utu.fi
EXAM:
12 January 2004 (Monday) 9-11, Mathematics Seminar Room 1
(Luonnontieteiden talo II, 4th floor, room #446)
The exam consists of a written test; notes, books, etc may be used but may not
be shared during the exam.
Program
1.
Metapopulation Ecology
Introduction
The
metapopulation concept - The case study of Melitaea cinxia - Causes of
population extinction - Colonisation - How to simplify spatial complexity: Spatially
implicit, explicit, and realistic models
Stochastic
patch occupancy models
The
Levins metapopulation - Mainland-island systems - Habitat loss and
metapopulation viability - Finite metapopulations - The spatially realistic
Levins-model - Allee-effect, rescue effect, and the IFM - Alternative
equilibria - Extinction debt
Coexistence
in metapopulations: The competition-colonisation trade-off
Complex
population dynamics in metapopulations
Stability
and synchrony - Two populations coupled by dispersal - Coupled map lattices -
Supertransients - Stabilisation by density-dependent dispersal
2. Evolution
in Metapopulations
The
evolution of dispersal. I. Stochastic environments
Escape
from crowding: A simple model with saturated populations and catastrophes -
Structured metapopulations - Evolutionary suicide - Source-sink systems and
coexistence of different dispersal strategies - Risk spreading in case of global
density regulation
The
evolution of dispersal. II. Kin competition
Dispersal
as an altruistic act - The Hamilton-May model - Adding catastrophes - Finite
fecundity and stochastic modelling - The effect of local population size
Dispersal
versus dormancy as alternative adaptations to environmental uncertainties
Adaptation
to local environments
Empirical
evidence: Why the conflicting results - The evolution of ecological
specialisation - Niche conservatism