Comment on "On the regulation of populations of mammals, birds, fish, and insects" I.
Sibly et al. (Reports, 22 July 2005, p. 607) concluded that density dependence acts far below the carrying capacity in most animal populations. We argue that the authors confused discrete and continuous models, that their best-fit models cannot explain observed oscillations, and that their estimation procedures appear biased. They also neglected trophic and migratory processes, which we demonstrate could underlie their empirical findings.
Getz
Wayne M
WM
Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management, University of California at Berkeley, CA 94720-3114, USA. getz@nature.berkeley.edu
Lloyd-Smith
James O
JO
D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D016208:Databases, Factual; D017753:Ecosystem; D005399:Fishes; D007313:Insecta; D016015:Logistic Models; D008322:Mammals; D008433:Mathematics; D008954:Models, Biological; D011156:Population Density; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011158:Population Growth; D012044:Regression Analysis