From pattern to process? Dual travelling waves, with contrasting propagation speeds, best describe a self-organised spatio-temporal pattern in population growth of a cyclic rodent

Deon Roos, Constantino Caminero Saldana, David Elston, François Mougeot, María García-Ariza, Beatriz Arroyo, Juan-Jose Luque-Larena , Francisco Rojo Revilla , Xavier Lambin* (Corresponding Author)

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)
2 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The dynamics of cyclic populations distributed in space result from the relative strength of synchronising influences and the limited dispersal of destabilising factors (activators and inhibitors), known to cause multi-annual population cycles. However, while each of these have been well studied in isolation, there is limited empirical evidence of how the processes of synchronisation and activation–inhibition act together, largely owing to the scarcity of datasets with sufficient spatial and temporal scale and resolution. We assessed a variety of models that could be underlying the spatio-temporal pattern, designed to capture both theoretical and empirical understandings of travelling waves using large-scale (>35,000 km2), multi-year (2011–2017) field monitoring data on abundances of common vole (Microtus arvalis), a cyclic agricultural rodent pest. We found most support for a pattern formed from the summation of two radial travelling waves with contrasting speeds that together describe population growth rates across the region.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1986-1998
Number of pages13
JournalEcology Letters
Volume25
Issue number9
Early online date31 Jul 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2022

Bibliographical note

Open Access via the Wiley Agreement
BOOMRAT (GrantNumber(s): MINECO: PID2019-109327RB-I00; Grant recipient(s): FRANÇOIS MOUGEOT, Juan Jose Luque-Larena)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (GrantNumber(s): BB/M010996/1; Grant recipient(s): Deon Roos)

Keywords

  • patterns
  • population cycles
  • population growth rate
  • spatio-temporal
  • synchrony

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