Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.
Age, Sex, Density, Winter Weather, and Population Crashes in Soay Sheep
T. Coulson,1*E. A. Catchpole,2S. D. Albon,3B. J. T. Morgan,4J. M. Pemberton,5T. H. Clutton-Brock,6M. J. Crawley,6B. T. Grenfell7
Quantifying the impact of density, extrinsic climatic
fluctuations, and demography on population fluctuations is a persistentchallenge in ecology. We analyzed the effect of these processeson the
irregular pattern of population crashes of Soay sheep onthe St. Kilda
archipelago, United Kingdom. Because the age andsex structure of the
population fluctuates independently of populationsize, and because
animals of different age and sex respond indifferent ways to density
and weather, identical weather conditionscan result in different
dynamics in populations of equal size.In addition, the strength of
density-dependent processes is afunction of the distribution of
weather events. Incorporatingdemographic heterogeneities into
population models can influencedynamics and their response to climate
change.
1 Institute of Zoology, Zoological
Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
2 School of Mathematics and Statistics, University
College University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force
Academy, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.
3 Center for
Ecology and Hydrology, Hill of Brathens, Glassel, Banchory AB31 4BY,
UK.
4 Institute of Mathematics and Statistics,
University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NF, UK.
5 Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology,
West Mains Road, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, Scotland,
UK.
6 Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks
SL5 7PY, UK.
7 Department of Zoology, University of
Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
*
Present address: Department of Zoology,
University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
tnc20{at}cam.ac.uk
The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:
In Science Magazine
PERSPECTIVES
Jean-Michel Gaillard, Marco Festa-Bianchet, and Nigel G. Yoccoz (25 May 2001) Science292 (5521), 1499.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1061765] |Summary »|Full Text »
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Influence of photoperiod and gonadal status on food intake, adiposity, and gene expression of hypothalamic appetite regulators in a seasonal mammal.
C. Anukulkitch, A. Rao, F. R. Dunshea, D. Blache, G. A. Lincoln, and I. J. Clarke (2007)
Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol
292, R242-R252
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Revealing the ghost in the machine: Using spectral analysis to understand the influence of noise on population dynamics.
Development of a Linkage Map and Mapping of Phenotypic Polymorphisms in a Free-Living Population of Soay Sheep (Ovis aries).
D. Beraldi, A. F. McRae, J. Gratten, J. Slate, P. M. Visscher, and J. M. Pemberton (2006)
Genetics
173, 1521-1537
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
From The Cover: Sex ratio bias, male aggression, and population collapse in lizards.
J.-F. Le Galliard, P. S. Fitze, R. Ferriere, and J. Clobert (2005)
PNAS
102, 18231-18236
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
A comparative study of Calanus finmarchicus mortality patterns at five localities in the North Atlantic.
M.D Ohman, K Eiane, E.G Durbin, J.A Runge, and H.-J Hirche (2004)
ICES J. Mar. Sci.
61, 687-697
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
The comparative energetics and growth strategies of sympatric Antarctic and subantarctic fur seal pups at Iles Crozet.
J. P. Y. Arnould, S. P. Luque, C. Guinet, D. P. Costa, J. Kingston, and S. A. Shaffer (2003)
J. Exp. Biol.
206, 4497-4506
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Contrasting dynamics in the same plant-herbivore interaction.
M. B. Bonsall, E. van der Meijden, and M. J. Crawley (2003)
PNAS
100, 14932-14936
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Parasites as a Viability Cost of Sexual Selection in Natural Populations of Mammals.
Production of Recombinant Human Type I Procollagen Trimers Using a Four-gene Expression System in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
P. D. Toman, G. Chisholm, H. McMullin, L. M. Giere, D. R. Olsen, R. J. Kovach, S. D. Leigh, B. E. Fong, R. Chang, G. A. Daniels, et al. (2000)
J. Biol. Chem.
275, 23303-23309
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »