Invasion speed is affected by geographical variation in the strength of Allee effects

Patrick C. Tobin, Stefanie L. Whitmire, Derek M. Johnson, Ottar N. Bjørnstad, Andrew M. Liebhold

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

158 Scopus citations

Abstract

Allee effects can play a critical role in slowing or preventing the establishment of low density founder populations of non-indigenous species. Similarly, the spread of established invaders into new habitats can be influenced by the degree to which small founder populations ahead of the invasion front are suppressed through Allee effects. We develop an approach to use empirical data on the gypsy moth, a non-indigenous invader in North America, to quantify the Allee threshold across geographical regions, and we report that the strength of the Allee effect is subject to spatial and temporal variability. Moreover, we present what is to our knowledge the first empirical evidence that geographical regions with higher Allee thresholds are associated with slower speeds of invasion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)36-43
Number of pages8
JournalEcology Letters
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2007

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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