Networks in metapopulation dynamics

Abstract

The behavior of spatially inhomogeneous populations in networks of habitats provides examples of dynamical systems on random graphs with structure. A particular example is a butterfly species inhabiting the Aland archipelago. A metapopulation description of the patch occupancies is here mapped to a quenched graph, using the empirical ecology-based incidence function description as a starting point. Such graphs are shown to have interesting features that both reflect the probably “self-organized” nature of a metapopulation that can survive and the geographical details of the landscape. Simulations of the Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible model, to mimick the time-dependent population dynamics relate to the graph features: lack of a typical scale, large connectivity per vertex, and the existence of independent subgraphs. Finally, ideas related to the application and extension of scale-free graphs to metapopulations are discussed.