Data from: Transient synchrony among populations of five foliage-feeding Lepidoptera

1. Studies of transient population dynamics have largely focused on
temporal changes in dynamical behavior, such as the transition between
periods of stability and instability. The present study explores a related
dynamic pattern, namely transient synchrony during a 49-year period among
populations of five sympatric species of forest insects that share host
tree resources. The long time-series allows a more comprehensive
exploration of transient synchrony patterns than most previous studies.
Considerable variation existed in the dynamics of individual species,
ranging from periodic to aperiodic. 2. We used time-averaged methods to
investigate long-term patterns of synchrony and time-localized methods to
detect transient synchrony. We investigated transient patterns of
synchrony between species and related these to the species’ varying
density dependence structures; even species with very different density
dependence exhibited at least temporary periods of synchrony. Observed
periods of interspecific synchrony may arise from interactions with host
trees (e.g. induced host defenses), interactions with shared natural
enemies, or shared impacts of environmental stochasticity. 3. The
transient nature of synchrony observed here raises questions both about
the identity of synchronizing mechanisms and how these mechanisms interact
with the endogenous dynamics of each species. We conclude that these
patterns are the result of interspecific interactions that act only
temporarily to synchronize populations, after which differences in the
endogenous population dynamics among the species acts to desynchronize
their dynamics.