Abstract
Using spatially explicit individual-based models is increasingly widespread, including in landscape ecology where they can be used to investigate the effects of potential land changes on population dynamics.One of the major steps to implement these models is the definition of the landscape in which the simulations occur, and especially habitat patch boundaries. Using RangeShifter to model red squirrel population dynamics, patches are defined as contiguous sets of same-type cells and intra-patch moves are not considered. In landscapes including very large patches, the absence of possibility to simulate intra-patch dispersal could alter population dynamics and genetics outputs.We compared simulation outputs with or without subdividing large patches into patches which area is closer to squirrel home range sizes. When subdividing large patches, the average distance travelled by individuals decreased by an average of 28%, closer to the results described in previous studies. Moreover, total abundance was closer to field-based estimates.