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The spatial dimension in population fluctuations
1E. Ranta, Integrative Ecology Unit, Division of Population Biology, Department of Ecology and Systematics, University of Helsinki, Post Office Box 17 (Arkadiankatu 7), FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland. V. Kaitala, Department of Biological and Environm.
Abstract:
Theoretical research into the dynamics of coupled populations has suggested a rich ensemble of spatial structures that are created and maintained either by external disturbances or self-reinforcing interactions among the populations. Long-term data of the Canadian lynx from eight Canadian provinces display large-scale spatial synchrony in population fluctuations. The synchronous dynamics are not time-invariant, however, as pairs of populations that are initially in step may drift out of phase and back into phase. These observations are in agreement with predictions of a spatially-linked population model and support contemporary population ecology theory.