Population Dynamics and Environmental Variability

SYNOPSIS. A model relating environmental variability and populationvariability is proposed and discussed. The model strongly emphasizesthe importance of the different consequences of erratic andregular environmental variability, which are discussed fromboth the theoretical and empirical viewpoints. Data on populationvariability for six species in three communities (temperateintertidal, subtropical intertidal, and oligotrophic lake benthic)are presented and discussed in the context of the model. Ingeneral, environmental variability and population variabilityare trongly correlated. The impact of erratic environmentalvariability is apparent in one community.