Abstract
Dispersal is fundamental to population dynamics and hence extinction risk. The dispersal success of animals depends on the biophysical structure of their environments and their biological traits; however, comparatively little is known about how evolutionary trade-offs among suites of biological traits affect dispersal potential. We developed a spatially explicit agent-based simulation model to evaluate the influence of trade-offs among a suite of biological traits on the dispersal success of vagile animals in fragmented landscapes. We specifically chose traits known to influence dispersal success: speed of movement, perceptual range, risk of predation, need to forage during dispersal, and amount of suitable habitat required for successful settlement in a patch. Using the metric of relative dispersal success rate, we assessed how the costs and benefits of evolutionary investment in these biological traits varied with landscape structure. In heterogeneous environments with low habitat availability and scattered habitat patches, individuals with more equal allocation across the trait spectrum dispersed most successfully. Our analyses suggest that the dispersal success of animals in heterogeneous environments is highly dependent on hierarchical interactions between trait trade-offs and the geometric configurations of the habitat patches in the landscapes through which they disperse. In an applied sense, our results indicate potential for ecological mis-alignment between species' evolved suites of dispersal-related traits and altered environmental conditions as a result of rapid global change. In many cases identifying the processes that shape patterns of animal dispersal, and the consequences of abiotic changes for these processes, will require consideration of complex relationships among a range of organism-specific and environmental factors.
Highlights
Dispersal between interacting but spatially segregated populations of conspecific animals is essential for the maintenance of gene flow, recolonization following local extirpation, population persistence, response to environmental change, and, reduction of extinction risk [1,2,3,4,5]
Of the biological traits we assessed, movement speed in all cases was positively associated with dispersal success, and minimum patch area (MINAREA) and background mortality rate were negatively correlated with dispersal success
Perceptual range and foraging tendency showed little correlation with dispersal success, and the contributions of these traits to dispersal success were less than 10%
Summary
Dispersal between interacting but spatially segregated populations of conspecific animals is essential for the maintenance of gene flow, recolonization following local extirpation, population persistence, response to environmental change, and, reduction of extinction risk [1,2,3,4,5]. The dispersal success of animals is influenced by a broad range of abiotic and biotic factors. Much is known about the importance of non-random (targeted) dispersal and the role that biological traits, both at the species and inter-individual-level, play in determining dispersal success [14 –19]. These phenotypic attributes interact with the environment in various ways to regulate dispersal processes [20,21]. Fundamental biological traits known to affect animal dispersal include: movement capacity; energetic requirements; behavioural plasticity; perceptive and cognitive abilities; foraging strategies; philopatric tendencies; and mating systems [21,22]
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