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Article: Density dependence, hatching synchrony, and within-cohort cannibalism in young dragonfly larvae.
- Article from:
- Ecology
- Article date:
- January 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Ecological Society of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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INTRODUCTION
Ecologists generally recognize cannibalism as a density-dependent mechanism having two main population-level effects: it stabilizes population numbers and alters size distributions (Fox 1975a, Polis 1981, Dong and Polis 1992). To stabilize population numbers, cannibalism, along with other mortality sources, must cause densities from a broad initial range to converge within a generation (Eisenberg 1966). If densities regularly converge, then the number of individuals reaching maturity should remain consistent across generations. In contrast, if densities "overconverge" (i.e., high densities yield fewer survivors than do low densities), then oscillations ...