Fluctuations and dispersal rates in population dynamics

Dispersal of species to find a more favorable habitat is important in population dynamics. Dispersal rates evolve in response to the relative success of different dispersal strategies. In a simplified deterministic treatment [J. Dockery, V. Hutson, K. Mischaikow, and M. Pernarowski, J. Math. Biol. 37, 61 (1998)] of two species which differ only in their dispersal rates the slow species always dominates. We demonstrate that fluctuations can change this conclusion and can lead to dominance by the fast species or to coexistence, depending on parameters. We discuss two different effects of fluctuations and show that our results are consistent with more complex treatments that find that selected dispersal rates are not monotonic with the cost of migration.