Spatial hyperdynamism in a post-disturbance simulated forest

Competition–colonization models can address the population dynamics of remnants following habitat destruction. Spatially explicit versions have produced qualifications of the extinction debt issue and limited hyperdynamism in populations following habitat destruction. Although spatially explicit, these efforts examined few indicators of the spatial structure of the landscape. An existing model is modified here to represent a difference in niche adaptations as well as the competition–colonization tradeoff. Several landscape metrics are calculated at each iteration. Although the addition of niche differentiation did not change the qualitative outcome of the model, the spatial metrics show that some aspects of landscape structure, i.e., average patch area and proximity, become hyperdynamic and remain so. Small fluctuations in species populations are magnified in their spatial expression because the landscape is simplified.