Scaling Population Cycles of Herbivores and Carnivores

TL;DR

This study extends allometric analysis of population cycle periods from warm-blooded species to a broader range of animals, revealing how body size influences oscillation periods across different clades.

Contribution

It introduces a comparative allometric analysis of population cycles across multiple species groups, expanding beyond previous warm-blooded species focus.

Findings

Oscillation periods increase with body size in herbivores with exponents 0.11-0.27.

Cycle times for similarly-sized species are longer in homeotherms than in invertebrates.

Predator cycle times do not scale with body size.

Abstract

Periodicity in population dynamics is a fundamental issue. In addition to current species-specific analyses, allometry facilitates understanding of limit cycles amongst different species. So far, body-size regressions have been derived for the oscillation period of the population densities of warm-blooded species, in particular herbivores. Here, we extend the allometric analysis to other clades, allowing for a comparison between the obtained slopes and intercepts. The oscillation periods were derived from databases and original studies to cover a broad range of conditions and species. Then, values were related to specific body size by regression analysis. For different groups of herbivorous species, the oscillation period increased as a function of individual mass as a power law with exponents of 0.11-0.27. The intercepts of the resulting linear regressions indicated that cycle times for equally-sized species increased from homeotherms up to invertebrates. Overall, cycle times for predators did not scale to body size. Implications for these differences were addressed in the light of intra- and interspecific delays.