Evolutionary and ecological consequences of dispersal strategies of
predators in a patchy environment
Gösta Nachman, Afd. for Populationsøkologi and David Margolies, Kansas State University
Thursday September 9, 1999, 15.00 in Kollokvierum 1, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Ø
Abstract
I will present the current state of a (unfortunately) long-term project conducted in order to
understand why phytoseiid predators differ with respect to dispersal behaviour, and what the
possible evolutionary and ecological consequences of selection on dispersal behaviour can be. The
analytical tool is a stochastic simulation model which incorporates within- and between-plant
dispersal of both prey and predators. A method, which we call the gladiator-technique, is used to
predict the optimal dispersal strategy of the predators in a given environment. Two environmental
factors are considered: (1) The mortality rate during dispersal, and (2) The dispersal behaviour of
the prey.
Warning: The talk will partly be a repetition of my presentation at the IBM meeting Friday August
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