According to metapopulation theory, what will happen when a population of a particular species goes locally extinct in a particular patch of habitat?
A - The species is gone from the patch forever
B - That patch of habitat will be destroyed or in some way will no longer be habitable by the species, otherwise the species would not have gone locally extinct there.
C - The patch will not remain empty for more than a year because each year when a new batch of organisms matures, they will colonize every available patch.
D - Another competing species will colonize the patch and exclude the first species from the patch if it tries to recolonize.
E - The patch may remain empty for a period of time, but eventually the species will recolonize the patch from another patch within the metapopulation.
Answer: E - The patch may remain empty for a period of time, but eventually the species will recolonize the patch from another patch within the metapopulation.