Abstract
We present the first solid theoretical foundation for interpreting the origin of Allee effects by providing the missing link in understanding how local individual-based mechanisms translate to global population dynamics. Allee effects were originally proposed to describe population dynamics that cannot be explained by exponential and logistic growth models. However, standard methods simply calibrate continuum models incorporating Allee effects to match observed global population dynamics, without providing any mechanistic insight. By introducing a stochastic individual-based model, with proliferation, death, and motility rates that depend on local density, we present the first modelling framework that gives rise to a range of global Allee effects. Using data from ecology and cell biology, we unpack individual-level mechanisms implicit in an Allee effect model and provide simulation tools for others to repeat this analysis.
