title: Analysis of dispersal effects in metapopulation models.
abstract: The interplay between local dynamics and dispersal rates in discrete metapopulation models for homogeneous landscapes is studied. We introduce an approach based on scalar dynamics to study global attraction of equilibria and periodic orbits. This approach applies for any number of patches, dispersal rates, or landscape structure. The existence of chaos in metapopulation models is also discussed. We analyze issues such as sensitive dependence on the initial conditions or short/intermediate/long term behaviours of chaotic orbits.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Matemática Aplicada II, E.T.S.I. Telecomunicación, Campus Marcosende, Universidad de Vigo, 36310, Vigo, Spain. alfonsoruiz@dma.uvigo.es.
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Herrera
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology; D017753:Ecosystem; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D008954:Models, Biological; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D011157:Population Dynamics
keywords: Chaos; Global stability; Metapopulation; Sensitive dependence on the initial conditions; Synchrony; Transient dynamics