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Behavioural dynamics

Nature volume 303, pages 801–804 (1983)Cite this article

Abstract

Recent proposals1,2 suggest that demography can account in full for the observed patterns of species abundance that are characterized by the exponent, β, of the power function3 relating population mean density, μ, to variance, V, where β ranges from <1 to ∼4 in different species3–7. We show here that stochastic demographic simulations1 fail to mimic real data in certain respects because active behaviour is missing from the models and that the behavioural Δ-model8,9 corresponds better with data.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Entomology Department, Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ, UK

    L. R. Taylor & I. P. Woiwod

  2. Entomology Department, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA

    R. A. J. Taylor

  3. Statistics Department, Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ, UK

    J. N. Perry

Authors
  1. L. R. Taylor
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  2. R. A. J. Taylor
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  3. I. P. Woiwod
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  4. J. N. Perry
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Taylor, L., Taylor, R., Woiwod, I. et al. Behavioural dynamics. Nature 303, 801–804 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/303801a0

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