Final answer:
Environmental stochasticity can synchronize metapopulation dynamics by causing similar effects on population sizes across different habitat patches.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question concerns which factors can synchronize metapopulation dynamics. Among the options provided, environmental stochasticity is a factor that can synchronize metapopulation dynamics. Environmental stochasticity refers to random fluctuations in the environment, such as changes in rainfall or food sources, which can affect birth and death rates across different populations.
If environmental factors impact all the patches within a metapopulation similarly, they may cause synchronized increases or decreases in population sizes, thereby synchronizing the dynamics of the metapopulation.