of $L/N$, $\gamma$, and $c$. For our main analysis we record the number of viable metapopulations out of the $1,000$ simulations and prepare the results for graphical analysis. The sensitivity of this test procedure and its interpretation with respect to the statistics of extinction times is discussed in Section \[sec:discussion:interpret\].

\[sec:results\]Results
======================

![\[fig:balanced\]Results on the viability of metapopulations exposed to dispersal patterns with regular dispersal randomly generated by the algorithm described in Section \[sec:viab-metap-conn\] and \[sec:algor-gener-balanc\]. In the upper row the viability is plotted as a function of the effective number of connections per patch, $L/N$, and the colonisation probability $c$. At every combination of $L/N$ and $c$ the viability of $1,000$ different dispersal patterns has been investigated. Green and red squares indicate parameters, where either all $1,000$ patterns either were viable or not. The intermediate region where some of the patterns were viable and others were not is coloured yellow. The three panels present the results for different degrees of symmetry, increasing from $\gamma=0$ (anti-symmetric dispersal patterns) on the left to $\gamma=1$ (symmetric patterns) on the right hand side. In the lower row the simulation results are presented accordingly as a function of the symmetry $\gamma$ and the colonisation 