Spatial memory shapes density dependence in population dynamics.

ABSTRACT: Most population dynamics studies assume that individuals use space uniformly, and thus mix well spatially. In numerous species, however, individuals do not move randomly, but use spatial memory to visit renewable resource patches repeatedly. To understand the extent to which memory-based foraging movement may affect density-dependent population dynamics through its impact on competition, we developed a spatially explicit, individual-based movement model where reproduction and death are functions of foraging efficiency. We compared the dynamics of populations of with- and without-memory individuals. We showed that memory-based movement leads to a higher population size at equilibrium, to a higher depletion of the environment, to a marked discrepancy between the global (i.e. measured at the

SUBMITTER: Riotte-Lambert L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5719166 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature