On the role of multiple scales in metapopulations of public good producers

TL;DR

This paper explores how multiple spatial and temporal scales in metapopulations influence the stability of public good producers, revealing that low mobility and stochastic effects can stabilize species even without spatial pattern formation.

Contribution

It introduces a conceptual model showing that multiple scales can stabilize public good producers in metapopulations, highlighting effects beyond well-mixed assumptions.

Findings

Low mobility stabilizes species via stochastic effects.

Spatial pattern formation is not essential for stabilization.

Multiple scales influence species dynamics in public goods games.

Abstract

Multiple scales in metapopulations can give rise to paradoxical behaviour: in a conceptual model for a public goods game, the species associated with a fitness cost due to the public good production can be stabilised in the well-mixed limit due to the mere existence of these scales. The scales in this model involve a length scale corresponding to separate patches, coupled by mobility, and separate time scales for reproduction and interaction with a local environment. Contrary to the well-mixed high mobility limit, we find that for low mobilities, the interaction rate progressively stabilises this species due to stochastic effects, and that the formation of spatial patterns is not crucial for this stabilisation.