Long‐Term Dynamics in a Metapopulation of the American Pika
Moilanen A, Smith AT, Hanski I. 1998. Long‐Term Dynamics in a Metapopulation of the American Pika. The American Naturalist. 152(4):530-542
A 20-yr study of a metapopulation of the American pika revealed a regional decline in occupancy in one part of a large network of habitat patches. We analyze the possible causes of this decline using a spatially realistic metapopulation model, the incidence function model. The pika metapopulation is the best-known mammalian example of a classical metapopulation withsignificant population turnover, and it satisfies closely the assumptions of the incidence function model, which was parameterized with data on patch occupancy. The model-predicted incidences of patch occupancy are consistent with observed incidences, and th emodel predicts well the observed turnover rate between four metapopulation censuses.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Moilanen, Atte; Smith, Andrew; Hanski, Ilkka
- Units
- GLAC
- Keywords
- americann pika (Ochotona princeps), Animal Studies, Metapopulation