Population dynamics
The spatial distribution of habitats, barriers to movement
etc affects the spatial distribution of populations. Changing landscape
pattern can therefore have serious consequences on species population
dynamics and the management of species.
Source sink
dynamics
Metapopulations
Fragmentation and metapopulations
Spatial structure in the landscape influences the way
populations are structured. If populations are spatially structured, this
means that individuals are clustered in some locations and absent from
others (Ritchie,
1997).
The Theory of Island Biogeography (MacArthur
and Wilson, 1967) and the idea of metapopulation dynamics (Andrewartha
and Birch, 1954) presented the notion that population dynamics depend
on spatial variability in habitat, the location of habitats relative to
others and the relative size of habitat patches. These ideas form the
basis of understanding population dynamics in a landscape context.
Landscape features define the distribution of habitats
and individuals, meaning that population dynamics need to consider the
distribution of individuals in space, and the interactions between populations
from different locations.
