Understanding spatial variation in population dynamics : enter the virtual ecologist / Andrew J. Tyre.

Abstract

Spatially explicit models and computer intensive analysis were employed to explore how processes acting at the individual level scale up to population dynamics when processes are variable in space as well as the consequences of sampling spatially complex variability for drawing conclusions from limited ecological data. Dispersal and variation in marsupial mortality and development in relation to habitat selection and quality were studied, while evaluating spatially explicit models. The study of dynamics models of tick populations on sleepy lizards considered the effect of spatial and temporal variability, and demonstrated that counting ticks is a poor indicator of tick abundance. The "virtual ecologist" model is a useful method for linking the output of spatially explicit population models to reality, and will be a valuable approach for improving the design of ecological field research on spatially complex landscapes.