title: Migration frequency and the persistence of host-parasitoid interactions.
abstract: This paper analyses the effect of migration frequency on the stability and persistence of a host-parasitoid system in a two-patch environment. The hosts and parasitoids are allowed to move from one patch to the other a certain number of times within a generation. When this number is low, i.e. when the time-scales associated with migration and demography are of the same order, host-parasitoid interactions are usually not persistent. When this number is high, however, persistence is more likely. Moreover, in this situation, aggregation methods can be used to simplify the proposed initial model into an aggregated model describing the dynamics of both the total host and parasitoid populations. Analysis of the aggregated model shows that the system reaches a stable steady state for some regions of the parameter domain. Persistence occurs when the movement of the parasitoids is asymmetrical, i.e. they move preferentially to one of the two patches. We show that the growth rate of the host population is a key parameter in determining which migration strategies of the parasitoids lead to persistent host-parasitoid interactions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR CNRS 5558 - Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 43, boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France. lett@biomserv.univ-lyon1.fr
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lett
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Auger
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bravo de la Parra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008954:Models, Biological; D011156:Population Density; D011157:Population Dynamics