CHAOS, METAPOPULATIONS AND DISPERSAL

Population models generated by simple non-linear ecological systems may display chaotic dynamics if density-dependence is sufficiently strong. We show that a relatively small degree of dispersion between such chaotic subpopulations within a metapopulation results in more predictable, simple, dynamics, often of an oscillatory nature, and severely reduces the expectation of chaos in such models. The implications and robustness of these results for field populations are discussed.