Dispersal
- LAST REVIEWED: 19 March 2013
- LAST MODIFIED: 19 March 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199830060-0033
- LAST REVIEWED: 19 March 2013
- LAST MODIFIED: 19 March 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199830060-0033
Introduction
Dispersal refers to movements of individuals or propagules that have potential consequences for gene flow within and between populations and across space; that is, dispersal is any movement from a source location (e.g., birth or breeding site) to another location where establishment and reproduction may occur. The term effective dispersal is used for events in which dispersal was followed by successful establishment and thus contributed to gene flow, as distinguished from the genuine dispersal events themselves (i.e., only the movement phase, regardless of subsequent establishment). Dispersal is a fundamental and widespread type of movement characterizing nearly all living organisms and playing a key role in determining many ecological and evolutionary processes. Consequently, the study of dispersal has a rich history, and the field is rapidly progressing today with the advancement of new technologies and theories. Yet, studies of dispersal have never formed a well-defined discipline, but rather developed as a topic relevant to biogeography, population genetics, and various subfields of ecology and evolutionary biology such as behavioral-, community-, landscape-, movement-, population-, and spatial-ecology. Overall, dispersal research has encompassed a diversity of methods developed in these multiple disciplines to address a wide range of scientific questions that can be classified into four interrelated categories: What are the general patterns of dispersal in space and time? What are the key proximate mechanisms underlying the generation of dispersal patterns? What are the ultimate drivers in the evolution of dispersal? and What are the implications of dispersal for individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems?
General Overviews
The leading introductory ecology textbooks usually provide brief overviews on dispersal and may offer some starting points, but they merely touch on the subject. Despite the long history of research and the upsurge in publications dedicated to dispersal in the past twenty years, there is still a lack of textbooks dealing with the subject as a whole. Perhaps the only introductory textbook currently dedicated to dispersal is Cousens, et al. 2008, an excellent overview of plant seed dispersal. Clobert, et al. 2001 and Bullock, et al. 2002 are two edited volumes offering a good selection of chapters for students and researchers, emphasizing evolution and causes of dispersal in animals, and the ecology of dispersal, respectively. Clobert, et al. 2012 is the most recent addition to the available general overviews of dispersal. Several other edited books and Special Issues in international journals provide more in-depth overviews of specific dispersal subjects including, for example, plant-animal interactions (Dennis, et al. 2007), dispersal of small mammals (Stenseth and Lidicker 1992), long-distance dispersal (LDD) (Special issue: Long distance dispersal 2003, cited under Special Issues) and dispersal and migration (Sugden and Pennisi 2006, cited under Special Issues). Examples of general reviews in journal articles covering a fairly diverse array of topics are Bowler and Benton 2005 on dispersal in animals and Nathan and Muller-Landau 2000 on patterns, mechanisms and consequences of dispersal in plants.
Bowler, D. E., and T. G. Benton. 2005. Causes and consequences of animal dispersal strategies: Relating individual behaviour to spatial dynamics. Biological Reviews 80:205–225.
DOI: 10.1017/S1464793104006645
In-depth, comprehensive review on animal dispersal. Focuses on the three phases of the dispersal process, and on the evolutionary (ultimate) and ecological/behavioral (proximate) causes of dispersal in animals, with special emphasis on conditional dispersal (see Distance-Independent Spatial Patterns and Condition-Dependent Dispersal).
Bullock, James M., Robert E. Kenward, and Rosie S. Hails, eds. 2002. Dispersal ecology. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
This edited book gives examples on methods for measuring dispersal and reviews dispersal and its ecological (mainly, population dynamic) consequences and role in a wide range of taxa. Lacking is a general introduction to dispersal, and some chapters may be too complicated for those seeking an introductory book.
Clobert, J., M. Baguette, T. G. Benton, and J. M. Bullock, eds. 2012. Dispersal ecology and evolution. Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press.
This edited volume provides the most comprehensive coverage of current research on dispersal ecology and evolution. The book is divided into seven parts, each composed of five chapters: the first reviews the recent research, the second covers the theoretical background, and the three remaining chapters provide case studies (or mini reviews) of the topic in vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants.
Clobert, Jean, Etienne Danchin, André A. Dhondt, and James D. Nichols, eds. 2001. Dispersal. Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press.
This edited volume excels in reviewing contemporary theory and empirical evidence for the evolution and causes of dispersal, mainly from animals, though some chapters may not be suitable as a first entry-level introduction to the topics. Also offers some contributions on the consequences of dispersal.
Cousens, Roger, Clavin Dytham, and Richard Law. 2008. Dispersal in plants: A population perspective. Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press.
An excellent, though nonexhaustive, introduction to seed dispersal in plants, providing concise, well-explained, systematic chapters on dispersal evolution, mechanisms, spatial patterns, and population consequences. Suitable for entry-level. Important topics not covered by this book are the use of genetic methods for measuring dispersal and the genetic consequences of dispersal.
Dennis, Andrew J., Eugene W. Schupp, Ronda J. Green, and David A. Westcott. 2007. Seed dispersal: Theory and its application in a changing world. Presentations given at the Fourth International Symposium/Workshop on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal held in Brisbane, Australia, 2005. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.
DOI: 10.1079/9781845931650.0000
This is the last volume in a series of edited volumes resulting from four successive conferences (in approximately five-year intervals) on seed dispersal and frugivory. Books in this series have provided a compilation of in-depth studies by leading researchers on the role of frugivory in seed dispersal, merging general overviews with specific examples from different species and systems. This last volume also includes a useful glossary of seed dispersal terms.
Nathan, R., and H. C. Muller-Landau. 2000. Spatial patterns of seed dispersal, their determinants and consequences for recruitment. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 15:278–285.
DOI: 10.1016/S0169-5347(00)01874-7
A more in-depth review, rather than entry-level introduction, of some key concepts, methods and models of the seed dispersal process. Highlighted are the complexity of multiple mechanisms determining spatial patterns of dispersal, and postdispersal processes shaping the consequences of dispersal for populations.
Stenseth, Nils Chr., and William Z. Lidicker Jr., eds. 1992. Animal dispersal: Small mammals as a model. London: Chapman & Hall.
This is one of several edited books dedicated to animal dispersal. Parts one and two and the appendices are helpful introductions to dispersal in animals for students and researchers. Other parts are specific examples for more advanced researchers.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Accounting for Ecological Capital
- Adaptive Radiation
- Agroecology
- Allelopathy
- Allocation of Reproductive Resources in Plants
- Animals, Functional Morphology of
- Animals, Reproductive Allocation in
- Animals, Thermoregulation in
- Antarctic Environments and Ecology
- Anthropocentrism
- Applied Ecology
- Approaches and Issues in Historical Ecology
- Aquatic Conservation
- Aquatic Nutrient Cycling
- Archaea, Ecology of
- Assembly Models
- Autecology
- Bacterial Diversity in Freshwater
- Benthic Ecology
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
- Biodiversity, Dimensionality of
- Biodiversity, Marine
- Biodiversity Patterns in Agricultural Systms
- Biofuels
- Biogeochemistry
- Biological Chaos and Complex Dynamics
- Biological Rhythms
- Biome, Alpine
- Biome, Boreal
- Biome, Desert
- Biome, Grassland
- Biome, Savanna
- Biome, Tundra
- Biomes, African
- Biomes, East Asian
- Biomes, Mountain
- Biomes, North American
- Biomes, South Asian
- Biophilia
- Braun, E. Lucy
- Bryophyte Ecology
- Butterfly Ecology
- Carson, Rachel
- Chemical Ecology
- Classification Analysis
- Coastal Dune Habitats
- Coevolution
- Communicating Ecology
- Communities and Ecosystems, Indirect Effects in
- Communities, Top-Down and Bottom-Up Regulation of
- Community Concept, The
- Community Ecology
- Community Genetics
- Community Phenology
- Competition and Coexistence in Animal Communities
- Competition in Plant Communities
- Complexity Theory
- Conservation Biology
- Conservation Genetics
- Coral Reefs
- Darwin, Charles
- Dead Wood in Forest Ecosystems
- Decomposition
- De-Glaciation, Ecology of
- Dendroecology
- Disease Ecology
- Dispersal
- Drought as a Disturbance in Forests
- Early Explorers, The
- Earth’s Climate, The
- Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics
- Ecological Dynamics in Fragmented Landscapes
- Ecological Education
- Ecological Engineering
- Ecological Forecasting
- Ecological Informatics
- Ecological Relevance of Speciation
- Ecology, Introductory Sources in
- Ecology, Microbial (Community)
- Ecology of Emerging Zoonotic Viruses
- Ecology of the Atlantic Forest
- Ecology, Stochastic Processes in
- Ecosystem Ecology
- Ecosystem Engineers
- Ecosystem Multifunctionality
- Ecosystem Services
- Ecosystem Services, Conservation of
- Ecotourism
- Elton, Charles
- Endophytes, Fungal
- Energy Flow
- Environmental Anthropology
- Environmental Justice
- Environments, Extreme
- Ethics, Ecological
- European Natural History Tradition
- Evolutionarily Stable Strategies
- Facilitation and the Organization of Communities
- Fern and Lycophyte Ecology
- Fire Ecology
- Fishes, Climate Change Effects on
- Flood Ecology
- Food Webs
- Foraging Behavior, Implications of
- Foraging, Optimal
- Forests, Temperate Coniferous
- Forests, Temperate Deciduous
- Freshwater Invertebrate Ecology
- Genetic Considerations in Plant Ecological Restoration
- Genomics, Ecological
- Geoecology
- Geographic Range
- Gleason, Henry
- Grazer Ecology
- Greig-Smith, Peter
- Gymnosperm Ecology
- Habitat Selection
- Harper, John L.
- Harvesting Alternative Water Resources (US West)
- Heavy Metal Tolerance
- Heterogeneity
- Himalaya, Ecology of the
- Host-Parasitoid Interactions
- Human Ecology
- Human Ecology of the Andes
- Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence
- Hutchinson, G. Evelyn
- Indigenous Ecologies
- Industrial Ecology
- Insect Ecology, Terrestrial
- Invasive Species
- Island Biogeography Theory
- Island Biology
- Keystone Species
- Kin Selection
- Landscape Dynamics
- Landscape Ecology
- Laws, Ecological
- Legume-Rhizobium Symbiosis, The
- Leopold, Aldo
- Lichen Ecology
- Life History
- Limnology
- Literature, Ecology and
- MacArthur, Robert H.
- Mangrove Zone Ecology
- Marine Fisheries Management
- Marine Subsidies
- Mass Effects
- Mathematical Ecology
- Mating Systems
- Maximum Sustainable Yield
- Metabolic Scaling Theory
- Metacommunity Dynamics
- Metapopulations and Spatial Population Processes
- Microclimate Ecology
- Mimicry
- Movement Ecology, Modeling and Data Analysis in
- Multiple Stable States and Catastrophic Shifts in Ecosyste...
- Mutualisms and Symbioses
- Mycorrhizal Ecology
- Natural History Tradition, The
- Networks, Ecological
- Niche Versus Neutral Models of Community Organization
- Niches
- Nutrient Foraging in Plants
- Ocean Sprawl
- Oceanography, Microbial
- Odum, Eugene and Howard
- Old Fields
- Ordination Analysis
- Organic Agriculture, Ecology of
- Paleoecology
- Paleolimnology
- Parental Care, Evolution of
- Pastures and Pastoralism
- Patch Dynamics
- Patrick, Ruth
- Peatlands
- Phenotypic Plasticity
- Phenotypic Selection
- Philosophy, Ecological
- Phylogenetics and Comparative Methods
- Physics, Ecology and
- Physiological Ecology of Nutrient Acquisition in Animals
- Physiological Ecology of Photosynthesis
- Physiological Ecology of Water Balance in Terrestrial Anim...
- Physiological Ecology of Water Balance in Terrestrial Plan...
- Plant Blindness
- Plant Disease Epidemiology
- Plant Ecological Responses to Extreme Climatic Events
- Plant-Insect Interactions
- Polar Regions
- Pollination Ecology
- Population Dynamics, Density-Dependence and Single-Species
- Population Dynamics, Methods in
- Population Ecology, Animal
- Population Ecology, Plant
- Population Fluctuations and Cycles
- Population Genetics
- Population Viability Analysis
- Populations and Communities, Dynamics of Age- and Stage-St...
- Predation and Community Organization
- Predation, Sublethal
- Predator-Prey Interactions
- Radioecology
- Reductionism Versus Holism
- Religion and Ecology
- Remote Sensing
- Restoration Ecology
- Rewilding
- Ricketts, Edward Flanders Robb
- Sclerochronology
- Secondary Production
- Seed Ecology
- Senescence
- Serpentine Soils
- Shelford, Victor
- Simulation Modeling
- Socioecology
- Soil Biogeochemistry
- Soil Ecology
- Spatial Pattern Analysis
- Spatial Patterns of Species Biodiversity in Terrestrial En...
- Spatial Scale and Biodiversity
- Species Distribution Modeling
- Species Extinctions
- Species Responses to Climate Change
- Species-Area Relationships
- Stability and Ecosystem Resilience, A Below-Ground Perspec...
- Stoichiometry, Ecological
- Stream Ecology
- Succession
- Sustainable Development
- Systematic Conservation Planning
- Systems Ecology
- Tansley, Sir Arthur
- Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycle
- Terrestrial Resource Limitation
- Territoriality
- Theory and Practice of Biological Control
- Thermal Ecology of Animals
- Tragedy of the Commons
- Transient Dynamics
- Trophic Levels
- Tropical Humid Forest Biome
- Urban Ecology
- Urban Forest Ecology
- Vegetation Classification
- Vegetation Dynamics, Remote Sensing of
- Vegetation Mapping
- Vicariance Biogeography
- Weed Ecology
- Wetland Ecology
- Whittaker, Robert H.
- Wildlife Ecology