On the interaction between stabilizing social factors and destabilizing trophic factors in small rodent populations (Q1080803)

In this paper, the author develops a series of mathematical models to clarify further the ''social fence hypothesis'' of \textit{J. B. Hestbeck} [Oikos 39, 157-163 (1982)] and to improve on Hestbeck's model in Population biology, Proc. int. Conf., Edmonton/Can. 1982, Lect. Notes Biomath. 52, 290-298 (1983), by including in his analysis the interaction between social factors and (dynamic) trophic factors. The author concludes that social factors tend to stabilize population density and that density cycles (as, for example, seen in microtine rodents) are driven by trophic interaction and not by social factors. From the analysis of the stability properties of the models, the author shows that seasonal environmental changes are not essential for the generation of regular density cycles, but seasonal changes may be necessary for generating a microtine-like density cycle. This is at variance with what is implied by Hestbeck and generally inconsistent with much current thinking in microtine biology, see for example, \textit{R. H. Tamarin}, Acta Zool. Fenn. 173, 19-21 (1985)]. The findings of this paper are interestingly convincing.