Informed dispersal, heterogeneity in animal dispersal syndromes and the dynamics of spatially structured populations

Abstract

There is accumulating evidence that individuals leave their natal area and select a breeding habitat non-randomly by relying upon information about their natal and future breeding environments. This variation in dispersal is not only based on external information (condition dependence) but also depends upon the internal state of individuals (phenotype dependence). As a consequence, not all dispersers are of the same quality or search for the same habitats. In addition, the individual's state is characterized by morphological, physiological or behavioural attributes that might themselves serve as a cue altering the habitat choice of conspecifics. These combined effects of internal and external information have the potential to generate complex movement patterns and could influence population dynamics and colonization processes. Here, we highlight three particular processes that link condition-dependent dispersal, phenotype-dependent dispersal and habitat choice strategies: (1) the relationship between the cause of departure and the dispersers' phenotype; (2) the relationship between the cause of departure and the settlement behaviour and (3) the concept of informed dispersal, where individuals gather and transfer information before and during their movements through the landscape. We review the empirical evidence for these processes with a special emphasis on vertebrate and arthropod model systems, and present case studies that have quantified the impacts of these processes on spatially structured population dynamics. We also discuss recent literature providing strong evidence that individual variation in dispersal has an important impact on both reinforcement and colonization success and therefore must be taken into account when predicting ecological responses to global warming and habitat fragmentation.

Time‐restricted flight ability influences dispersal and colonization rates in a group of freshwater beetles

“…But morphological dispersal traits do not necessarily explain species occurrences (e.g., Grönroos et al., 2013; Schulz, Siqueira, Stefan, & Roque, 2012), and dispersal events driven by physiological or behavioral factors with no relationship to morphological traits are well documented among larger vertebrates (Bekoff, 1977; Duckworth & Badyaev, 2007). These physiological or behavioral factors have also been proposed to be important for invertebrate species (Clobert, Galliard, Cote, Meylan, & Massot, 2009; Hanski et al., 2004), yet we know very little about the seasonal variability and stressors generating nonmorphological differences in flight abilities and how this may influence local and regional occurrences of invertebrate species (Bilton, 2014; Bilton, Freeland, & Okamura, 2001). …”

Local and neighboring patch conditions alter sex‐specific movement in banana weevils

“…Therefore, our results show that density‐dependent movement in C. sordidus is context dependent, which agrees with current dispersal theory (Bowler and Benton 2005; Clobert et al. 2009). Moreover, the switch in the nature of the density‐dependent effect (from negative to positive) exhibited by C. sordidus supports the idea that movement is fitness dependent (Ruxton and Rohani 1998).…”

“…In such situations, density‐dependent movement may result in an even fitness expectancy of conspecifics across space (Holt and Barfield 2001; Clobert et al. 2009). The density‐dependent effect can be either positive or negative depending on the strength of the autocorrelation of the environmental stochasticity.…”

Effects of rearing conditions on natal dispersal processes in a long‐lived predator bird

“…Variation in dispersal can to a large extent be explained by variation in the morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits that affect individual movement and orientation capacity (Clobert, Le Galliard, Cote, Meylan, & Massot, 2009). An individual’s internal state can provide information on the fitness potential of its environment, thereby affecting its decision to stay or leave its natal area (Clobert et al., 2012).…”

“…An individual’s internal state can provide information on the fitness potential of its environment, thereby affecting its decision to stay or leave its natal area (Clobert et al., 2012). In other words, the costs and benefits of natal dispersal are influenced by the internal state of individuals and by environmental conditions experienced both in the natal area and in future breeding sites (Acker et al., 2018; Bonte et al., 2012; Bowler & Benton, 2005; Clobert et al., 2009; del Mar Delgado, Penteriani, Revilla, & Nams, 2010; Rémy, Le Galliard, Gundersen, Steen, & Andreassen, 2011). Thus, both modeling and empirical studies indicate that natal dispersal behavior often represents a plastic‐, phenotype‐, and condition‐dependent strategy (Bonte et al., 2012; Clobert et al., 2012; Rémy et al., 2011).…”