Dynamics of North American Breeding Bird Populations

Timothy H. Keitt and H. Eugene Stanley

Working Papers from Santa Fe Institute

Abstract: The dynamics of biological populations often appear quite complex, exhibiting considerable year-to-year variation in local abundances. One approach to dealing with ecological complexity is to reduce the system to one or a few species, for which meaningful equations can be written and even solved. Here we explore an alternative approach by studying statistical properties of a vastly larger assemblage comprising over 600 species. Specifically, we quantitatively analyze one of the most comprehensive data sets available: the North American Breeding Bird Survey, which records annual species abundances over a 31-year period at more than 3,000 survey routes. We analyze all the data on an equal footing, and find features common to other, inanimate systems composed of strongly interacting subunits.

Keywords: Population biology; extinction; population variability; scaling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1997-12
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wop:safiwp:97-12-089

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