Dynamics of populations on the verge of extinction

Theoretical considerations suggest that extinction in dispersal-limited populations is necessarily a threshold-like process that is analogous to a critical phase transition in physics. We use this analogy to find robust, common features in the dynamics of extinctions, and suggest early warning signa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inOikos Vol. 109; no. 2; pp. 291 - 296
Main Author Oborny, Géza Meszéna and György Szabó, Beáta
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Copenhagen Munksgaard International Publishers 01.05.2005
Blackwell Publishers
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects
Animal populations
Ecological modeling
Ecology
Extinction
Metapopulation ecology
Population density
Population dynamics
Population ecology
Population size
Power laws
Predictions
Spatial models
Species extinction
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Theoretical considerations suggest that extinction in dispersal-limited populations is necessarily a threshold-like process that is analogous to a critical phase transition in physics. We use this analogy to find robust, common features in the dynamics of extinctions, and suggest early warning signals which may indicate that a population is endangered. As the critical threshold of extinction is approached, the population spontaneously fragments into discrete subpopulations and, consequently, density regulation fails. The population size declines and its spatial variance diverges according to scaling laws. Therefore, we can make robust predictions exactly in the range where prognosis is vital, on the verge of extinction.
Bibliography:ArticleID:OIK13783
istex:314C8DDC86F136EE7B60E42903C53615D5798B58
ark:/67375/WNG-F2Z8DV28-J
ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0030-1299
1600-0706
DOI:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13783.x