title: Evidence for an optimal level of connectivity for establishment and colonization.
abstract: Dispersal is usually associated with the spread of invasive species, but it also has two opposing effects, one decreasing and the other increasing the probability of establishment. Indeed, dispersal both slows population growth at the site of introduction and increases the likelihood of surrounding habitat being colonized. The connectivity of the introduction site is likely to affect dispersal, and, thus, establishment, according to the dispersal behaviour of individuals. Using individual-based models and microcosm experiments on minute wasps, we demonstrated the existence of a hump-shaped relationship between connectivity and establishment in situations in which individual dispersal resembled a diffusion process. These results suggest that there is an optimal level of connectivity for the establishment of introduced populations locally at the site of introduction, and regionally over the whole landscape.
authors.affiliation: Université Côte d'Azur, INRA, CNRS, ISA, 06900 Sophia Antipolis, France thibaut.moreljournel@laposte.net.
authors.forename: Thibaut
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9124-2894
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morel-Journel
authors.affiliation: Université Côte d'Azur, INRA, CNRS, ISA, 06900 Sophia Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Piponiot
authors.affiliation: Université Côte d'Azur, INRA, CNRS, ISA, 06900 Sophia Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Elodie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vercken
authors.affiliation: Université Côte d'Azur, INRA, CNRS, ISA, 06900 Sophia Antipolis, France.|Université Côte d'Azur, Inria, INRA, CNRS, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, 06900 Sophia Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mailleret
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D058865:Introduced Species; D008954:Models, Biological; D014863:Wasps / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: connectivity; establishment; individual-based model; introduction; microcosm