arXiv subjects

B. Mehlig

Publications and source records attributed to B. Mehlig.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

The emergence of the rescue effect from the interaction of local stochastic dynamics within a metapopulation

Immigration can rescue local populations from extinction, helping to stabilise a metapopulation. Local population dynamics is important for determining the strength of this rescue effect, but the mechanistic link between local demographic parameters and the rescue effect at the metapopulation level has received very little attention by modellers. We develop an analytical framework that allows us to describe the emergence of the rescue effect from interacting local stochastic dynamics. We show this framework to be applicable to a wide range of spatial scales, providing a powerful and convenient alternative to individual-based models for making predictions concerning the fate of metapopulations. We show that the rescue effect plays an important role in minimising the increase in local extinction probability associated with high demographic stochasticity, but its role is more limited in the case of high local environmental stochasticity of recruitment or survival. While most models postulate the rescue effect, our framework provides an explicit mechanistic link between local dynamics and the emergence of the rescue effect, and more generally the stability of the whole metapopulation.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2013

Tumbling of small axisymmetric particles in random and turbulent flows

We analyse the tumbling of small non-spherical, axisymmetric particles in random and turbulent flows. We compute the orientational dynamics in terms of a perturbation expansion in the Kubo number, and obtain the tumbling rate in terms of Lagrangian correlation functions. These capture preferential sampling of the fluid gradients which in turn can give rise to differences in the tumbling rates of disks and rods. We show that this is a weak effect in Gaussian random flows. But in turbulent flows persistent regions of high vorticity cause disks to tumble much faster than rods, as observed in direct numerical simulations [Parsa et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109 (2012) 134501]. For larger particles (at finite Stokes numbers), rotational and translational inertia affects the tumbling rate and the angle at which particles collide, due to the formation of rotational caustics.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

Lyapunov exponents for particles advected in compressible random velocity fields at small and large Kubo numbers

We calculate the Lyapunov exponents describing spatial clustering of particles advected in one- and two-dimensional random velocity fields at finite Kubo numbers Ku (a dimensionless parameter characterising the correlation time of the velocity field). In one dimension we obtain accurate results up to Ku ~ 1 by resummation of a perturbation expansion in Ku. At large Kubo numbers we compute the Lyapunov exponent by taking into account the fact that the particles follow the minima of the potential function corresponding to the velocity field. The Lyapunov exponent is always negative. In two spatial dimensions the sign of the maximal Lyapunov exponent λ_1 may change, depending upon the degree of compressibility of the flow and the Kubo number. For small Kubo numbers we compute the first four non-vanishing terms in the small-Ku expansion of the Lyapunov exponents. By resumming these expansions we obtain a precise estimate of the location of the path-coalescence transition (where λ_1 changes sign) for Kubo numbers up to approximately Ku = 0.5. For large Kubo numbers we estimate the Lyapunov exponents for a partially compressible velocity field by assuming that the particles sample those stagnation points of the velocity field that have a negative real part of the maximal eigenvalue of the matrix of flow-velocity gradients.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

Orientational dynamics of weakly inertial axisymmetric particles in steady viscous flows

The orientational dynamics of weakly inertial axisymmetric particles in a steady flow is investigated. We derive an asymptotic equation of motion for the unit axial vector along the particle symmetry axis, valid for small Stokes number St, and for any axisymmetric particle in any steady linear viscous flow. This reduced dynamics is analysed in two ways, both pertain to the case of a simple shear flow. In this case inertia induces a coupling between precession and nutation. This coupling affects the dynamics of the particle, breaks the degeneracy of the Jeffery orbits, and creates two limiting periodic orbits. We calculate the leading-order Floquet exponents of the limiting periodic orbits and show analytically that prolate objects tend to a tumbling orbit, while oblate objects tend to a log-rolling orbit, in agreement with previous analytical and numerical results. Second, we analyse the role of the limiting orbits when rotational noise is present. We formulate the Fokker-Planck equation describing the orientational distribution of an axisymmetric particle, valid for small St and general Peclet number Pe. Numerical solutions of the Fokker-Planck equation, obtained by means of expansion in spherical harmonics, show that stationary orientational distributions are close to the inertia-free case when Pe St << 1, whereas they are determined by inertial effects, though small, when Pe >> 1/St >> 1.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

Relative velocities of inertial particles in turbulent aerosols

We compute the joint distribution of relative velocities and separations of identical inertial particles suspended in randomly mixing and turbulent flows. Our results are obtained by matching asymptotic forms of the distribution. The method takes into account spatial clustering of the suspended particles as well as singularities in their motion (so-called 'caustics'). It thus takes proper account of the fractal properties of phase space and the distribution is characterised in terms of the corresponding phase-space fractal dimension D_2. The method clearly exhibits universal aspects of the distribution (independent of the statistical properties of the flow): at small particle separations R and not too large radial relative speeds |V_R|, the distribution of radial relative velocities exhibits a universal power-law form ρ(V_R,R) \sim |V_R|^{D_2-d-1} provided that D_2 < d+1 (d is the spatial dimension) and that the Stokes number St is large enough for caustics to form. The range in V_R over which this power law is valid depends on R, on the Stokes number, and upon the nature of the flow. Our results are in good agreement with results of computer simulations of the dynamics of particles suspended in random velocity fields with finite correlation times. In the white-noise limit the results are consistent with those of [Gustavsson and Mehlig, Phys. Rev. E84 (2011) 045304].

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

How Levins' dynamics emerges from a Ricker metapopulation model on the brink of extinction

Understanding the dynamics of metapopulations close to extinction is of vital importance for management. Levins-like models, in which local patches are treated as either occupied or empty, have been used extensively for this purpose, but they ignore the important role of local population dynamics. In this paper, we consider a stochastic metapopulation model where local populations follow a Ricker dynamics, and use this framework to investigate the behaviour of the metapopulation at the brink of extinction. As long as dispersal rates are not too large, the system is shown to have a time evolution consistent with Levins' dynamics. We derive analytical expressions for the colonisation and extinction rates (c and e) in Levins-type models in terms of reproduction, survival, and dispersal parameters of the local populations, providing an avenue to parameterising Levins-like models from the type of information on local demography that is available for a number of species. To facilitate applying our results, we provide a numerical implementation for computing c and e.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2013

Aperiodic tumbling of microrods advected in a microchannel flow

We report on an experimental investigation of the tumbling of microrods in the shear flow of a microchannel (40 x 2.5 x 0.4 mm). The rods are 20 to 30 microns long and their diameters are of the order of 1 micron. Images of the centre-of-mass motion and the orientational dynamics of the rods are recorded using a microscope equipped with a CCD camera. A motorised microscope stage is used to track individual rods as they move along the channel. Automated image analysis determines the position and orientation of a tracked rods in each video frame. We find different behaviours, depending on the particle shape, its initial position, and orientation. First, we observe periodic as well as aperiodic tumbling. Second, the data show that different tumbling trajectories exhibit different sensitivities to external perturbations. These observations can be explained by slight asymmetries of the rods. Third we observe that after some time, initially periodic trajectories lose their phase. We attribute this to drift of the centre of mass of the rod from one to another stream line of the channel flow.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

Inertial-particle dynamics in turbulent flows: caustics, concentration fluctuations, and random uncorrelated motion

We discuss the relation between three recent approaches of describing the dynamics and the spatial distribution of particles suspended in turbulent flows: phase-space singularities in the inertial particle dynamics (caustics), real-space singularities of the deformation tensor, and random uncorrelated motion. We discuss how the phase- and real-space singularities are related. Their formation is well understood in terms of a local theory. We discuss implications for random uncorrelated motion. Our results are supported by results of direct numerical simulations of inertial particles in model flows.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

Monomer distributions and intra-chain collisions of a polymer confined to a channel

We study the conformations of a self-avoiding polymer confined to a channel by computing the cross-sectional distributions of the positions of its monomers. By means of Monte-Carlo simulations for a self-avoiding, freely-jointed chain we determine how the cross-sectional distribution for a given monomer depends on its location in the polymer, and how strongly this distribution is affected by self avoidance. To this end we analyze how the frequency of intra-chain collisions between monomers depends on their spatial position in the channel and on their location within the polymer. We show that most collisions occur between closely neighboring monomers. As a consequence the collision probability depends only weakly on the spatial position of the monomers. Our results explain why the effect of self-avoidance on the monomer distributions is weaker than predicted by mean-field theory. We discuss the relevance of our results for studies of DNA conformations in nanofluidic channels.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2012

The effect of multiple paternity on genetic diversity during and after colonisation

In metapopulations, genetic variation of local populations is influenced by the genetic content of the founders, and of migrants following establishment. We analyse the effect of multiple paternity on genetic diversity using a model in which the highly promiscuous marine snail Littorina saxatilis expands from a mainland to colonise initially empty islands of an archipelago. Migrant females carry a large number of eggs fertilised by 1 - 10 mates. We quantify the genetic diversity of the population in terms of its heterozygosity: initially during the transient colonisation process, and at long times when the population has reached an equilibrium state with migration. During colonisation, multiple paternity increases the heterozygosity by 10 - 300 % in comparison with the case of single paternity. The equilibrium state, by contrast, is less strongly affected: multiple paternity gives rise to 10 - 50 % higher heterozygosity compared with single paternity. Further we find that far from the mainland, new mutations spreading from the mainland cause bursts of high genetic diversity separated by long periods of low diversity. This effect is boosted by multiple paternity. We conclude that multiple paternity facilitates colonisation and maintenance of small populations, whether or not this is the main cause for the evolution of extreme promiscuity in Littorina saxatilis.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2012

Orientational correlations in confined DNA

We study how the orientational correlations of DNA confined to nanochannels depend on the channel diameter D by means of Monte Carlo simulations and a mean-field theory. This theory describes DNA conformations in the experimentally relevant regime where the Flory-de Gennes theory does not apply. We show how local correlations determine the dependence of the end-to-end distance of the DNA molecule upon D. Tapered nanochannels provide the necessary resolution in D to study experimentally how the extension of confined DNA molecules depends upon D. Our experimental and theoretical results are in qualitative agreement.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2012

Evolutionary branching in a stochastic population model with discrete mutational steps

Evolutionary branching is analysed in a stochastic, individual-based population model under mutation and selection. In such models, the common assumption is that individual reproduction and life career are characterised by values of a trait, and also by population sizes, and that mutations lead to small changes in trait value. Then, traditionally, the evolutionary dynamics is studied in the limit of vanishing mutational step sizes. In the present approach, small but non-negligible mutational steps are considered. By means of theoretical analysis in the limit of infinitely large populations, as well as computer simulations, we demonstrate how discrete mutational steps affect the patterns of evolutionary branching. We also argue that the average time to the first branching depends in a sensitive way on both mutational step size and population size.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2012

Metapopulation dynamics on the brink of extinction

We analyse metapopulation dynamics in terms of an individual-based, stochastic model of a finite metapopulation. We suggest a new approach, using the number of patches in the population as a large parameter. This approach does not require that the number of individuals per patch is large, neither is it necessary to assume a time-scale separation between local population dynamics and migration. Our approach makes it possible to accurately describe the dynamics of metapopulations consisting of many small patches. We focus on metapopulations on the brink of extinction. We estimate the time to extinction and describe the most likely path to extinction. We find that the logarithm of the time to extinction is proportional to the product of two vectors, a vector characterising the distribution of patch population sizes in the quasi-steady state, and a vector -- related to Fisher's reproduction vector -- that quantifies the sensitivity of the quasi-steady state distribution to demographic fluctuations. We compare our analytical results to stochastic simulations of the model, and discuss the range of validity of the analytical expressions. By identifying fast and slow degrees of freedom in the metapopulation dynamics, we show that the dynamics of large metapopulations close to extinction is approximately described by a deterministic equation originally proposed by Levins (1969). We were able to compute the rates in Levins' equation in terms of the parameters of our stochastic, individual-based model. It turns out, however, that the interpretation of the dynamical variable depends strongly on the intrinsic growth rate and carrying capacity of the patches. Only when the growth rate and the carrying capacity are large does the slow variable correspond to the number of patches, as envisaged by Levins. Last but not least, we discuss how our findings relate to other, widely used metapopulation models.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2012

Distribution of relative velocities in turbulent aerosols

We compute the distribution of relative velocities for a one-dimensional model of heavy particles suspended in a turbulent flow, quantifying the caustic contribution to the moments of relative velocities. The same principles determine the corresponding caustic contribution in $d$ spatial dimensions. The distribution of relative velocities Δv at small separations R acquires the universal form ρ(Δv,R) ~ R^{d-1}|Δv|^{D_2-2d} for large (but not too large) values of |Δv|. Here D_2 is the phase-space correlation dimension. Our conclusions are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations of particles suspended in a randomly mixing flow in two dimensions, and in quantitative agreement with published data on direct numerical simulations of particles in turbulent flows.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2012

Distribution of velocity gradients and rate of caustic formation in turbulent aerosols at finite Kubo numbers

In a one-dimensional model for a turbulent aerosol (inertial particles suspended in a random flow) we compute the distributions of particle-velocity gradients and the rate of caustic formation at finite but small Kubo numbers Ku, for arbitrary Stokes numbers St. Our results are consistent with those obtained earlier in the limit of small Ku and and large St, such that Ku^2 St remains constant. We show how finite-time correlations and non-ergodic effects influence the inertial-particle dynamics at finite but small Kubo numbers.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2012

A microfluidic device for the study of the orientational dynamics of microrods

We describe a microfluidic device for studying the orientational dynamics of microrods. The device enables us to experimentally investigate the tumbling of microrods immersed in the shear flow in a microfluidic channel with a depth of 400 mu and a width of 2.5 mm. The orientational dynamics was recorded using a 20 X microscopic objective and a CCD camera. The microrods were produced by shearing microdroplets of photocurable epoxy resin. We show different examples of empirically observed tumbling. On the one hand we find that short stretches of the experimentally determined time series are well described by fits to solutions of Jeffery's approximate equation of motion [Jeffery, Proc. R. Soc. London. 102 (1922), 161-179]. On the other hand we find that the empirically observed trajectories drift between different solutions of Jeffery's equation. We discuss possible causes of this orbit drift.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2011

Linkage disequilibrium under recurrent bottlenecks

Understanding patterns of selectively neutral genetic variation is essential in order to model deviations from neutrality, caused for example by different forms of selection. Best understood is neutral genetic variation at a single locus, but additional insights can be gained by investigating genetic variation at multiple loci. The corresponding patterns of variation reflect linkage disequilibrium and provide information about the underlying multi-locus gene genealogies. The statistical properties of two-locus genealogies have been intensively studied for populations of constant census size, as well as for simple demographic histories such as exponential population growth, and single bottlenecks. By contrast, the combined effect of recombination and sustained demographic fluctuations is poorly understood. Addressing this issue, we study a two-locus Wright-Fisher model of a population subject to recurrent bottlenecks. We derive coalescent approximations for the covariance of the times to the most recent common ancestor at two loci. We find, first, that an effective population-size approximation describes the numerically observed linkage disequilibrium provided that recombination occurs either much faster or much more slowly than the population size changes. Second, when recombination occurs frequently between bottlenecks but rarely within bottlenecks, we observe long-range linkage disequilibrium. Third, we show that in the latter case, a commonly used measure of linkage disequilibrium, sigma_d^2 (closely related to r^2), fails to capture long-range linkage disequilibrium because constituent terms, each reflecting long-range linkage disequilibrium, cancel. Fourth, we analyse a limiting case in which long-range linkage disequilibrium can be described in terms of a Xi-coalescent process allowing for simultaneous multiple mergers of ancestral lines.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2011

Ergodic and non-ergodic clustering of inertial particles

We compute the fractal dimension of clusters of inertial particles in mixing flows at finite values of Kubo (Ku) and Stokes (St) numbers, by a new series expansion in Ku. At small St, the theory includes clustering by Maxey's non-ergodic 'centrifuge' effect. In the limit of St to infinity and Ku to zero (so that Ku^2 St remains finite) it explains clustering in terms of ergodic 'multiplicative amplification'. In this limit, the theory is consistent with the asymptotic perturbation series in [Duncan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 (2005) 240602]. The new theory allows to analyse how the two clustering mechanisms compete at finite values of St and Ku. For particles suspended in two-dimensional random Gaussian incompressible flows, the theory yields excellent results for Ku < 0.2 for arbitrary values of St; the ergodic mechanism is found to contribute significantly unless St is very small. For higher values of Ku the new series is likely to require resummation. But numerical simulations show that for Ku ~ St ~ 1 too, ergodic 'multiplicative amplification' makes a substantial contribution to the observed clustering.

physics.flu-dyn↗