Biomedical subjects

Ludek Berec

Publications and source records attributed to Ludek Berec.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Multiple Allee effects and population management.

Allee effects, strongly related to the extinction vulnerability of populations and gradually becoming acknowledged by both theoretically oriented and applied ecologists, have already been shown to have important roles in the dynamics of many populations. Although not yet widely recognized, two or more Allee effects can occur simultaneously in the same population. Here, we review the evidence for multiple Allee effects and show that their interactions can take several forms, many of which are far from inconsequential. We suggest that more research is needed to assess the prevalence and interactions of multiple Allee effects, as failing to take them into account could have adverse consequences for the management of threatened or exploited populations.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Differences in the pattern of evolution in six physically linked genes of Drosophila melanogaster.

We describe DNA sequence polymorphisms at six loci (Acp26Aa, Acp26Ab, Acp29AB, Idgf1, Idgf3 and Ddc), all on the second chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster in one natural European population. Previous studies considering these loci separately showed that some of them were affected by natural selection. However, demographic processes or population admixture can produce footprints similar to natural selection. Simultaneous consideration of several genes may help to discern between selective and demography/admixture scenarios because the latter are expected to affect a majority of loci in a similar manner. Such an effect is not necessarily uniform among genes, but can be modified by rates of recombination and substitution. Since different evolutionary forces shaped the variation of the studied genes, our aim is to examine if their physical linkage could have affected the observed pattern. Fisher's conservative test of linkage disequilibrium is not significant. Lewontin's sign test pointed to linkage disequilibrium both within and between loci levels, though, none of the loci exhibits haplotype structure. Coupled with other results, the possibility of demography being the exclusive explanation for the observed variability is ruled out.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Single-species models of the Allee effect: extinction boundaries, sex ratios and mate encounters.

We critically review and classify models of single-species population dynamics subject to the demographic Allee effect with emphasis on non-spatial, deterministic approach. Inclusion of spatial movement and stochastic phenomena does not substantially change the behaviour; stochasticity only "blurs" step-like character of the Allee effect into a sigmoidal form. The outcome of all non-spatial, deterministic models is either unconditional extinction, extinction-survival scenario (ES), or unconditional survival. Three major model classes are recognized: (1) one-dimensional heuristic models, (2) one-dimensional models with mating probability and fixed sex ratio, and (3) two-sex models with variable adult sex ratio. Each class is characterized by the shape of extinction boundary which separates extinction from survival in the ES scenario. The latter two classes may give better predictions of extinction thresholds than heuristic models but require specific information and are data intensive. In one-dimensional models with fixed sex ratio, population cannot survive if density/number of males decreases below some threshold while there is no such restriction on females. Individual-based models seem to be most capable of explaining mechanisms leading to the Allee effect.

Animals↗