Quantifying Dispersal in Heterogeneous Landscapes
Mark-recapture methods are fundamental tools in such empirical research that aims at assessing the movement of individuals. I describe a diffusion- based model that can be parameterized with mark-recapture data to study the interaction between landscape structure and movement behaviour. The model allows the development of biologically relevant measures for functional connectivity. This unites population biology and landscape ecology in the sense that in the latter field such measures are commonplace, but have usually been derived from ad hoc principles. As an example, I use Bayesian estimation methods to illustrate the role of dispersal corridors for a species of butterfly inhabiting a fragmented landscape.
Otso Ovaskainen, University of Helsinki
