Dispersion as a survival strategy

TL;DR

This paper investigates how dispersion influences population survival in stochastic growth models under catastrophes, highlighting the importance of environmental and event-specific factors.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of dispersion as a survival strategy considering spatial constraints and catastrophe effects, offering new insights into population viability.

Findings

Dispersion's effectiveness varies with catastrophe severity.

Spatial restrictions significantly impact survival outcomes.

Survival probability depends on individual resilience during disasters.

Abstract

We consider stochastic growth models to represent population subject to catastrophes. We analyze the subject from different set ups considering or not spatial restrictions, whether dispersion is a good strategy to increase the population viability. We find out it strongly depends on the effect of a catastrophic event, the spatial constraints of the environment and the probability that each exposed individual survives when a disaster strikes.