Drivers of amphibian population dynamics and asynchrony at local and regional scales

Identifying the drivers of population fluctuations in spatially distinct populations remains a significant challenge for ecologists. Whereas regional climatic factors may generate population synchrony (i.e., the Moran effect), local factors including the level of density-dependence may reduce the level of synchrony. Although divergences in the scaling of population synchrony and spatial environmental variation have been observed, the regulatory factors that underlie such mismatches are poorly understood.
Few previous studies have investigated how density-dependent processes and population-specific responses to weather variation influence spatial synchrony at both local and regional scales. We addressed this issue in a pond-breeding amphibian, the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus). We used capture-recapture data collected through long-term surveys in five T. cristatus populations in Western Europe.
In all populations – and subpopulations within metapopulations – population s...