TY - JOUR
T1 - Skeletons, noise and population growth
T2 - The end of an old debate?
AU - Coulson, Tim
AU - Rohani, Pejman
AU - Pascual, Mercedes
PY - 2004/7
Y1 - 2004/7
N2 - Population dynamics models remain largely deterministic, although the presence of random fluctuations in nature is well recognized. This deterministic approach is based on the implicit assumption that systems can be separated into a deterministic part that captures the essential features of the system and a random part that can be neglected. But is it possible, in general, to understand population dynamics without the explicit consideration of random fluctuations? Here, we suggest perhaps not, and argue that the dynamics of many systems are a result of interactions between the deterministic nonlinear skeleton and noise.
AB - Population dynamics models remain largely deterministic, although the presence of random fluctuations in nature is well recognized. This deterministic approach is based on the implicit assumption that systems can be separated into a deterministic part that captures the essential features of the system and a random part that can be neglected. But is it possible, in general, to understand population dynamics without the explicit consideration of random fluctuations? Here, we suggest perhaps not, and argue that the dynamics of many systems are a result of interactions between the deterministic nonlinear skeleton and noise.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.tree.2004.05.008
DO - 10.1016/j.tree.2004.05.008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:3042553395
SN - 0169-5347
VL - 19
SP - 359
EP - 364
JO - Trends in Ecology and Evolution
JF - Trends in Ecology and Evolution
IS - 7
ER -