Invasion speed is affected by geographical variation in the strength of Allee effects

Allee effects can play a critical role in slowing or preventing the establishment of low density founder populations of non-indigenous species. Similarly, the spread of established invaders into new habitats can be influenced by the degree to which small founder populations ahead of the invasion fro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology letters 2007-01, Vol.10 (1), p.36-43
Main Authors: Tobin, Patrick C, Whitmire, Stefanie L, Johnson, Derek M, Bjørnstad, Ottar N, Liebhold, Andrew M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Allee effects
Animals
biological invasions
Conservation of Natural Resources
Geography
invasion speed
Lymantria dispar
Models, Theoretical
Moths
non-indigenous species
North America
Pest Control
Population Dynamics
spatial and temporal heterogeneity
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Summary:Allee effects can play a critical role in slowing or preventing the establishment of low density founder populations of non-indigenous species. Similarly, the spread of established invaders into new habitats can be influenced by the degree to which small founder populations ahead of the invasion front are suppressed through Allee effects. We develop an approach to use empirical data on the gypsy moth, a non-indigenous invader in North America, to quantify the Allee threshold across geographical regions, and we report that the strength of the Allee effect is subject to spatial and temporal variability. Moreover, we present what is to our knowledge the first empirical evidence that geographical regions with higher Allee thresholds are associated with slower speeds of invasion.
ISSN:1461-023X
1461-0248
DOI:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00991.x