Range_expansion
Colonisation (biology)
A species spreading to new areas
Colonisation or colonization is the process in biology by which a species spreads to new areas. Colonisation often refers to successful immigration where a population becomes integrated into an ecological community, having resisted initial local extinction.[citation needed] In ecology, it is represented by the symbol λ (lowercase lambda) to denote the long-term intrinsic growth rate of a population.
One classic scientific model in biogeography posits that a species must continue to colonize new areas through its life cycle (called a taxon cycle) in order to achieve longevity.[1] Accordingly, colonisation and extinction are key components of island biogeography, a theory that has many applications in ecology, such as metapopulations.