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#metapopulation

13 public questions tagged with this topic.

A population that persists due to immigration despite high local extinction rates exemplifies:

“Core-satellite metapopulation” for a population that persists due to immigration despite high local extinction rates exemplifies. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. At equilibrium, species identities can continue to turn over even when richness is approximately stable. The model predicts a balance of rates, not an absence of colonization or extinction. The remaining alternatives—“Classical metapopulation”, “Nonequilibrium metapopulation”, “Continuous population”—refer to different st

Ref: Campbell Biology, Urry et al., 12th Ed., Unit 8 Ecology

In a metapopulation, subpopulations are interconnected through:

“Dispersal of individuals” for in a metapopulation, subpopulations are interconnected through. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. Population ecology links individual births, deaths, immigration, and emigration to changes in abundance. Per-capita rates determine the direction of change, while density dependence creates feedback when crowding alters survival or reproduction. The remaining alternatives—“Genetic drift”, “Resource partitioning”, “Competitive exclusion”—refer to different s

Ref: Campbell Biology, Urry et al., 12th Ed., Unit 8 Ecology

Fragmented populations linked through dispersal constitute:

“A metapopulation” for fragmented populations linked through dispersal constitute. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. Interpretation must distinguish absolute population change from a per-capita rate and must state the time interval and population boundary. Age structure, dispersal, environmental variation, and delayed responses can all make observed trajectories depart from a simple model. The remaining alternatives—“A deme”, “A single large population”, “An isolated group”—refer to

Ref: Campbell Biology, Urry et al., 12th Ed., Unit 8 Ecology

Immigration prevents extinction in a patch; this phenomenon is called:

“Rescue effect” for immigration prevents extinction in a patch; this phenomenon is called. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. Island biogeography explains species richness as a dynamic balance between immigration and extinction. Immigration generally declines as an island fills with species, whereas extinction rises as more species divide finite area and maintain smaller populations. The remaining alternatives—“Founder effect”, “Genetic drift”, “Colonization effect”—refer to different

Ref: Campbell Biology, Urry et al., 12th Ed., Unit 8 Ecology

Which factor does NOT affect metapopulation persistence?

The keyed exception is “Genetic drift.” In the context of which factor does not affect metapopulation persistence, that statement differs from the governing ecological pattern and must be evaluated against the mechanism rather than accepted from wording alone. Mechanistic support comes from showing how resource limitation, enemies, mate availability, or physiological stress changes demographic performance. A descriptive association alone does not establish regulation or causation. The remaining alternatives—“Number of patches”, “Size of patches”, “Connectivity among patches”—refer to different

Ref: Campbell Biology, Urry et al., 12th Ed., Unit 8 Ecology

A metapopulation is primarily defined as:

“A group of populations linked by immigration and emigration” for a metapopulation is primarily defined as. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. Population ecology links individual births, deaths, immigration, and emigration to changes in abundance. Per-capita rates determine the direction of change, while density dependence creates feedback when crowding alters survival or reproduction. The remaining alternatives—“A single large population”, “A group of isolated individuals”, “A popula

Ref: Campbell Biology, Urry et al., 12th Ed., Unit 8 Ecology

Recolonization of a previously extinct patch is an example of:

The rescue effect and recolonization are related but distinct. Rescue occurs when immigrants enter a patch that is still occupied and prevent its local population from going extinct. Recolonization occurs after extinction, when dispersers establish a new population in an empty patch. Therefore, the wording “recolonization of a previously extinct patch” describes colonization following local extinction, not rescue in its strict ecological meaning. Movement of colonists is migration or dispersal, making that listed alternative closer to the mechanism, although “recolonization” itself would be th

Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 9

The term 'metapopulation' was coined by:

Richard Levins introduced the term and formal concept of a metapopulation in the late 1960s while developing models of populations occupying temporary habitat patches. His classic formulation tracked the fraction of suitable patches occupied, balancing colonization of empty patches against extinction of occupied ones. This abstraction showed how a species could persist regionally even when individual local populations repeatedly vanished. Robert MacArthur and E. O. Wilson developed island biogeography, a closely related theory balancing immigration and extinction in island species richness, bu

Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 9

The 'rescue effect' refers to:

The rescue effect occurs when immigrants enter a small, declining local population and reduce its probability of extinction. New arrivals add individuals directly, can increase reproduction by supplying mates, and may restore genetic variation or reduce inbreeding. The patch remains occupied throughout; immigration “rescues” it before abundance reaches zero. This differs from recolonization, which establishes a population in a patch after local extinction has already occurred. In metapopulation models, both processes depend on connectivity, but they affect occupancy in different ways: rescue l

Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 9

Core-satellite metapopulations are maintained by:

In a core–satellite, or mainland–island, metapopulation, a large persistent core population provides a continuing supply of emigrants to smaller peripheral populations. The core has low extinction risk because of its size or superior habitat quality, whereas satellite patches may frequently disappear and be recolonized. Regional persistence therefore depends heavily on propagule production from the core. Equal gene flow among all patches is not required; movement is often asymmetric from core to satellites. A high extinction rate in satellites may characterize the system but does not maintain

Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 9

Which statement best describes a metapopulation?

A metapopulation consists of multiple local subpopulations occupying separate habitat patches and linked by dispersal. Each patch can have its own births, deaths, density, and risk of extinction, while emigrants connect local dynamics by colonizing empty patches or supplementing occupied ones. Regional persistence can therefore occur despite recurring local extinctions. A single local population lacks this explicit patch network, and a completely isolated group cannot undergo the colonization–extinction balance central to metapopulation theory. The subpopulations need not be genetically identi

Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 9

In metapopulations, extinction of a patch is balanced by:

Metapopulation persistence depends on a dynamic balance between local extinction and colonization. When a patch population disappears, dispersers from occupied patches can establish a new local population, a process called recolonization. If recolonization rates are sufficient relative to extinction rates, the species can persist regionally even though no particular patch is occupied continuously. In the classic Levins model, the fraction of occupied patches changes as colonization creates new occupancy and extinction removes it. Dispersal is the movement mechanism that makes recolonization po

Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 9