Data and code from: Dispersing across habitat boundaries: uncovering the demographic fates of populations in unsuitable habitat

Patchy landscapes are characterized by abrupt transitions among habitats, forcing species to cross habitat boundaries in order to spread. Although individuals that disperse into unsuitable habitat are often presumed dead in population models, their demographic fates may not be so simple. If survival within unsuitable habitat is possible (however transiently), then through time, individuals may be able to reach distant, suitable habitat, buffering species from extinction. In a fragmented Californian grassland, we explored the fates of individuals that crossed habitat boundaries, and if those fates differed among habitat specialists dispersing between two habitat types: serpentine habitat patches and the invaded non-serpentine matrix. We surveyed the diversity of seedbank and adult life stages along transects that crossed boundaries between patches and the matrix. First, we considered how patch specialists might transiently survive in the matrix via seed dormancy. We found that dormancy m..., See Methods of manuscript, , \################################################################################

# CODE AND DATA ASSOCIATED WITH MANUSCRIPT: \"Dispersal across habitat boundaries: uncovering the demographic fates of populations in unsuitable habitat\"

## AUTHORS: Megan Szojka (ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8937-9074) and Rachel M. Germain (ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1270-6639)

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# OVERVIEW:

This project explored the fates of seeds that crossed habitat boundaries, and if those fates differed among habitat specialists dispersing between two habitat types: serpentine habitat patches and the invaded non-serpentine matrix. We surveyed the diversity of seedbank and adult life stages along transects that crossed boundaries between patches and the matrix. Our seedbank samples were collected in October 2018 from serpentine grasslands within McLaughlin Nature Reserve in Northern California (Dataset: new_ga.Rdata; Fig. 2a). Our surveys of the germ...