Timing between successive introduction events determines establishment success in bacteria with an Allee effect.

ABSTRACT: Propagule pressure is a leading determinant of population establishment. Yet, an experimental understanding of how propagule size and number (two principal parts of propagule pressure) determine establishment success remains incomplete. Theoretical studies suggest that the timing between introduction events, a component of propagule number, can influence establishment success. However, this dynamic has rarely been explored experimentally. Using Escherichia coli engineered with an Allee effect, we investigated how the timing of two introduction events influences establishment. For populations introduced below the Allee threshold, establishment occurred if the time between two introduction events was sufficiently short, with the length of time between events further reduced by reducing growt

SUBMITTER: Dressler MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6532516 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature