Theory 52/Metapopulation/Onset phase
Occupancy Rises With Colonisation
The claim
A metapopulation grows when the ratio of colonisation rate to extinction rate exceeds one, so the same landscape supports or loses a species depending on connectivity.
01Mechanism
Occupancy is an equilibrium of arrivals and losses; the ratio sets it.
02Prediction
Occupancy should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Occupancy tracking patch number would remove connectivity.