title: Rodent population cycles: life history adjustments to age-specific dispersal strategies and intrinsic time lags.
abstract: Multi-annual population cycles can be generated by life history responses to density dependent changes in adult and pre-reproductive survival. The proximate mechanism linking population dynamics and demography of cycling rodents appears to be high pre-reproductive dispersal at peak density, or during periods of population increase. This model is similar to the Chitty hypothesis which can best be viewed as a special case of demographic control on population size. Normally, this control should be selfreinforcing and lead to damped oscillations toward a stable population density. Intrinsic time lags induced by variation in the length of the breeding season modify the dependence of demography on population size, and enable the cycles to persist.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, A1B 3X9, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
authors.forename: Douglas W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Morris