Consider a songbird whose intact forest habitat has been gradually cleared to ma
ID: 206810 • Letter: C
Question
Consider a songbird whose intact forest habitat has been gradually cleared to make space for agricultural land (largely inhospitable habitat for this songbird). Now the species is considered endangered because of its small and declining range. Remaining habitat fragments may be considered in a spatial context, as equivalent patches of suitable habitat, which may or may not be occupied. For a metapopulation of this songbird, the following parameters were estimated for the Levins matapopulation model: c= 0.24 and Pe= 0.16.
1). based on this information, do you expect this population to persist over the longterm?
2).how much could the songbird's dispersal ability decline and the population still persist? what is the lowest value of c (colonization) that would still allow persistence of this metapopulation in the face of habitat destruction?
Explanation / Answer
Answer
It is a clear case of metapopulation. In which the population of same species distributed in patches present in an area. There is no interaction between the population present at different patches.
Metapopulation Levin model: In this model consideration of occupied and unoccupied area in the patches(P). No of occupied space in patches depend on the Colonised population and Extinction population with coefficient c and e.
Given,
P = 1- e/c
P value give the persistence of population. Generally, 0<P<1 and c>e
A) P = 1- 0.16/0.24
= 1- 0.66
= 0.34
According to the result obtained in A and information given above shows that population persist longterm.
B) Growth rate of a population decrease the space or occupies space and this will decline dispersal ability.
So,
Rate = c – e
= 0.24 – 0.16
= 0.08