Mass extinctions: an alternative to the Allee effect (Q1774205)

The author introduces a mathematical model to explain the extinction or near extinction of animals such as passenger pigeons which apparently remain in large flocks almost to their end. This model is an alternative to the main mass extinction theory proposed in ecology, the so-called Allee effect: it describes a positive relationship between population density and the per capita growth rate; in other words, for smaller populations, the reproduction and survival of individuals decreases, see \textit{W. C. Allee} [``Animal aggregation. A study in general sociology'' (Chicago, 1931)] and \textit{P. A. Stephens}, \textit{W. J. Sutherland} and \textit{R. Freckleton} [Oikos 87, 185--190 (1999)]. The author proposes a mathematical model that, at least in theory, shows that animals living in large flocks are more susceptible to mass extinctions than animals living in small flocks. If the maximum flock size is above a certain threshold, then the population is certain to become extinct, while if the maximum flock size is below the threshold, there is a strictly positive probability that the population will survive. The described model extends the model of \textit{T. M. Liggett} [``Stochastic interacting systems: Contact, voter and exclusion processes'' (1999; Zbl 0949.60006)] for a contact process.