Dynamics of metapopulations of small mammals

Abstract

This paper reviews the development and application of the metapopulation concept to mammalian population dynamics. Studies of mammalian population dynamics documenting spatial variation in demography contributed importantly to the evolution of a landscape approach to ecology. At the same time, important theoretical developments such as the theory of island biogeography and Levin's metapopulation model provided ecologists with testable hypotheses regarding spatial variation in population dynamics. Empirical studies of mammalian populations indicate a spectrum of spatial structures from large homogeneous populations integrated by dispersal to highly isolated populations not connected by dispersal. The metapopulation approach to mammalian population dynamics resolves some of the earlier controversy regarding the nature of regulation of populations. It has also contributed importantly to the conservation biology of mammals.