Evolution of dispersal and the ideal free distribution (Q964162)

Dispersal is an important feature of the life histories of many organisms, but its evolution and ecological effects remain poorly understood. A general question in the study of the evolution of dispersal is what kind of dispersal strategies can convey competitive advantages and thus will evolve. The authors consider a two species competition model in which the species are assumed to have the same population dynamics but different dispersal strategies. Both species disperse by random diffusion and advection along certain gradients, with the same random dispersal rates but different advection coefficients. A conditional dispersal strategy which results in the ideal free distribution of species, and show that it is a local evolutionarily stable strategy is found. It is further shown that this strategy is also a global convergent stable strategy under suitable assumptions, and the results illustrate how the evolution of conditional dispersal can lead to an ideal free distribution. Biologically, this means that the species with this particular dispersal strategy can perfectly match the environmental resource, which leads to its fitness being equilibrated across the habitats.