Spatial pattern and the mechanism of population regulation

William Gurney, R.M. Nisbet

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

It has been suggested that the saturation density of many populations is adjusted to match environmental conditions by indirect controls rather than by direct physiological response to lack of some critical resource. This hypothesis is widely regarded as untestable since the observable effects of direct and indirect regulation have been held to be indistinguishable. In this paper we show that the way in which the density of a consumer population competing for a single, spatially heterogeneous, limiting resource, “tracks” variations in its environment is characteristically dependent upon the nature of the density limiting mechanism.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)361-370
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Theoretical Biology
Volume59
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Jul 1976

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Spatial Pattern
Population Density
Limiting
Population
Resources
physiological response
Saturation
environmental factors
Dependent

Keywords

  • consumer population
  • population density

Cite this

Gurney, William ; Nisbet, R.M. . / Spatial pattern and the mechanism of population regulation. In: Journal of Theoretical Biology. 1976 ; Vol. 59, No. 2. pp. 361-370.
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Gurney, W & Nisbet, RM 1976, 'Spatial pattern and the mechanism of population regulation', Journal of Theoretical Biology, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 361-370. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(76)90176-4

Spatial pattern and the mechanism of population regulation. / Gurney, William; Nisbet, R.M. .

In: Journal of Theoretical Biology, Vol. 59, No. 2, 07.07.1976, p. 361-370.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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Gurney W, Nisbet RM. Spatial pattern and the mechanism of population regulation. Journal of Theoretical Biology. 1976 Jul 7;59(2):361-370. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(76)90176-4

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