What are the three common patterns of population dispersion? What might cause a population to disperse in an evenly spaced pattern? (Site 1)

Three types of dispersion: Even, clumped or contagious and random.

Explanation:

The three common patterns of population dispersion are even (the individuals in the population are located at about the same distance from one another, (like the creosotebush in the Chihuahuan desert), clumped or contagious (the organisms form groups, like gazelles or fish) and random in which the organisms are located where they are by chance, like some aquatic microorganisms. The most common one is clumped. A population may be caused to disperse in an evenly-spaced pattern because the organisms of the same species may decrease their fitness as they approach each other, like desert plants that compete for water. Creosotebush additionally produces chemicals that hinder seed germination thus decreasing the fitness of any plant that grows nearby even further.

These include clumped, even, and random. If individuals are evenly dispersed, they are located at equal intervals. If they are clumped, they are bunched together in clusters. Random dispersion means the location of each individual is determined by chance. The most common type of dispersion in nature is clumped.