Metapopulation Dynamics Flashcards
1
Q
How does recruitment influence population dynamics?
A
- • Recruitment influences spatial & temporal variation in organism density
- Variations in recruitment can alter ecosystem function
- Knowing recruitment levels is critical to the management of exploited stocks
2
Q
Where are the recruits coming from?
A
- Local recruitment
- Import of recruits from populations at other locations
3
Q
What was the traditional view of populatoins?
A
panmictic - homogenous pool of potential recruits -> more random than organised recruiting.
4
Q
What is the Metapopulatoin view of populatoins?
“Connectivity varies in time and space”
A
- A metapopulatoin is a series of subpopulations
- Populatoins not continuous across space
- Spatially isolated groups of organisms are linked to some extent by the dispersal of individuals
- Dynamics varies among subpopulatoins
5
Q
What are the benefits of understanding connectivity?
A
- Biologically meaningful population management units (e.g. fisheries and conservation areas)
- predict a popoulations response to disturbance
- identify populations vulnerable to overharvesting (self recruiting or not?)
- Identify important source populations
- optimise size and configuration of MPAs
- understand and control spread of invasive species
6
Q
What determins larval connectivity?
A
strongly dependent on biological and physical processes
7
Q
How is larval conectivity measured?
A
- Hydrodynamic modelling (paua)
- Otolith chemistry (tropical reef fish)
- populaton genetics (NZ limpets)
8
Q
How are population genetics used to estimate connectivity?
A
9
Q
What genetic difference determins the variation within species?
A
Haplotype network
