title: Population dynamics in an intermittent refuge.
abstract: Population dynamics is constrained by the environment, which needs to obey certain conditions to support population growth. We consider a standard model for the evolution of a single species population density, which includes reproduction, competition for resources, and spatial spreading, while subject to an external harmful effect. The habitat is spatially heterogeneous, there existing a refuge where the population can be protected. Temporal variability is introduced by the intermittent character of the refuge. This scenario can apply to a wide range of situations, from a laboratory setting where bacteria can be protected by a blinking mask from ultraviolet radiation, to large-scale ecosystems, like a marine reserve where there can be seasonal fishing prohibitions. Using analytical and numerical tools, we investigate the asymptotic behavior of the total population as a function of the size and characteristic time scales of the refuge. We obtain expressions for the minimal size required for population survival, in the slow and fast time scale limits.
authors.affiliation: Departament of Physics, PUC-Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.affiliation: Departament of Physics, PUC-Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.|Institute of Science and Technology for Complex Systems, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anteneodo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D008954:Models, Biological; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013997:Time Factors