Dispersal, colored environmental noise, and spatial synchrony in population dynamics: analyzing a discrete host–parasitoid population model

Abstract

AbstractSpatial synchrony is common, and its influences and causes have attracted the interest of ecologists. Spatially correlated environmental noise, dispersal, and trophic interactions have been considered as the causes of spatial synchrony. In this study, we developed a spatially structured population model, which is described by coupled‐map lattices. Our recent investigation showed that trophic correlation of environmental noise was another important factor that affects spatial synchrony. As a supplement, we considered the influence of the color of the environmental noise on the spatial synchrony in this study. The noise color refers to the temporal correlation in the time series data of the noise, and is expressed as the degree of (first‐order) autocorrelation for autoregressive noise. Patterns of spatial synchrony were considered for stable, periodic (quasi‐periodic), and chaotic population dynamics. Numerical simulations verified that the color of the environmental noise is another mechanism that causes spatial synchrony. Generally, the effect of the color of the noise on the synchrony is dependent on the type of dynamics (stable, cyclic, chaotic) present in the population. For cyclic dynamics, simulation results clearly demonstrate that reddened noise has higher synchrony than white noise. The importance of our research is that it enriches the theory of potential causes of spatial synchrony.