Populations are often subdivided in more or less discrete units linked by migration, extinction, and recolonization. When such a metapopulation structure is present, local populations may be in disequilibrium with respect to genetic or demographic traits, while the ensemble of populations may be stable. Social spiders represent an ideal metapopulation system in which to study the interplay between local and global processes in a metapopulation. Inspired by the biology of these organisms, computer simulation models will be developed to (1) explore the conditions under which extinction and recolonization may balance each other to allow the persistence of a metapopulation, and (2) explore the evolution of traits, such as clutch size and sex ratio, that affect local population dynamics and may be subject to selection at the group and individual level.
This study brings together the fields of ecology and evolution to explore two potentially controversial issues: the evolution of chaotic population dynamics and the role that group selection may play in the evolution of life history traits in metapopulations. These are issues of broad significance in ecology and evolution and of relevance to the conservation of species in fragmented landscapes.
