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Population Dynamics with Threshold Effects Give Rise to a Diverse Family of Allee Effects.

ABSTRACT: The Allee effect describes populations that deviate from logistic growth models and arises in applications including ecology and cell biology. A common justification for incorporating Allee effects into population models is that the population in question has altered growth mechanisms at some critical density, often referred to as a threshold effect. Despite the ubiquitous nature of threshold effects arising in various biological applications, the explicit link between local threshold effects and global Allee effects has not been considered. In this work, we examine a continuum population model that incorporates threshold effects in the local growth mechanisms. We show that this model gives rise to a diverse family of Allee effects, and we provide a comprehensive analysis of which choices of local growth mechanisms give rise to specific Allee effects. Calibrating this model to a recent set of experimental data describing the growth of a population of cancer cells provides an interpretation of the threshold population density and growth mechanisms associated with the population.

SUBMITTER: Fadai NT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7292819 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Population Dynamics with Threshold Effects Give Rise to a Diverse Family of Allee Effects.

Fadai Nabil T NT Simpson Matthew J MJ

Bulletin of mathematical biology 20200612 6

The Allee effect describes populations that deviate from logistic growth models and arises in applications including ecology and cell biology. A common justification for incorporating Allee effects into population models is that the population in question has altered growth mechanisms at some critical density, often referred to as a threshold effect. Despite the ubiquitous nature of threshold effects arising in various biological applications, the explicit link between local threshold effects an ...[more]

PMID: 32533355

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Project description:Reconstructing the dynamics of populations is complicated by the different types of stochasticity experienced by populations, in particular if some forms of stochasticity introduce bias in parameter estimation in addition to error. Identification of systematic biases is critical when determining whether the intrinsic dynamics of populations are stable or unstable and whether or not populations exhibit an Allee effect, i.e., a minimum size below which deterministic extinction should follow. Using a simulation model that allows for Allee effects and a range of intrinsic dynamics, we investigated how three types of stochasticity--demographic, environmental, and random catastrophes--affect our ability to reconstruct the intrinsic dynamics of populations. Demographic stochasticity aside, which is only problematic in small populations, we find that environmental stochasticity--positive and negative environmental fluctuations--caused increased error in parameter estimation, but bias was rarely problematic, except at the highest levels of noise. Random catastrophes, events causing large-scale mortality and likely to be more common than usually recognized, caused immediate bias in parameter estimates, in particular when Allee effects were large. In the latter case, population stability was predicted when endogenous dynamics were actually unstable and the minimum viable population size was overestimated in populations with small or non-existent Allee effects. Catastrophes also generally increased extinction risk, in particular when endogenous Allee effects were large. We propose a method for identifying data points likely resulting from catastrophic events when such events have not been recorded. Using social spider colonies (Anelosimus spp.) as models for populations, we show that after known or suspected catastrophes are accounted for, reconstructed growth parameters are consistent with intrinsic dynamical instability and substantial Allee effects. Our results are applicable to metapopulation or time series data and are relevant for predicting extinction in conservation applications or the management of invasive species.

Dataset Information

Population Dynamics with Threshold Effects Give Rise to a Diverse Family of Allee Effects.

Publications

Population Dynamics with Threshold Effects Give Rise to a Diverse Family of Allee Effects.

Similar Datasets

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