Optimal dispersal in ecological dynamics with Allee effect in metapopulations

Abstract

We introduce a minimal agent-based model to understand the effects of the interplay between dispersal and geometric constraints in metapopulation dynamics under the Allee Effect. The model, which does not impose nonlinear birth and death rates, is studied both analytically and numerically. Our results indicate the existence of a survival-extinction boundary with monotonic behavior for weak spatial constraints and a nonmonotonic behavior for strong spatial constraints so that there is an optimal dispersal that maximizes the survival probability. Such optimal dispersal has empirical support from recent experiments with engineered bacteria.