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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.

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