Phase coupling and synchrony in the spatiotemporal dynamics of muskrat and mink populations across Canada

Haydon, D.T., Stenseth, N.C., Boyce, M.S. and Greenwood, P.E. (2001) Phase coupling and synchrony in the spatiotemporal dynamics of muskrat and mink populations across Canada. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98(23), pp. 13149-13154. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.221275198)

Full text not currently available from Enlighten.

Abstract

Population ecologists have traditionally focused on the patterns and causes of population variation in the temporal domain for which a substantial body of practical analytic techniques have been developed. More recently, numerous studies have documented how populations may fluctuate synchronously over large spatial areas; analyses of such spatially extended time-series have started to provide additional clues regarding the causes of these population fluctuations and explanations for their synchronous occurrence. Here, we report on the development of a phase-based method for identifying coupling between temporally coincident but spatially distributed cyclic time-series, which we apply to the numbers of muskrat and mink recorded at 81 locations across Canada. The analysis reveals remarkable parallel clines in the strength of coupling between proximate populations of both species—declining from west to east—together with a corresponding increase in observed synchrony between these populations the further east they are located

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Haydon, Professor Daniel
Authors: Haydon, D.T., Stenseth, N.C., Boyce, M.S., and Greenwood, P.E.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Journal Name:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Publisher:National Academy of Sciences
ISSN:0027-8424
ISSN (Online):1091-6490

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record