A central issue in ecology is in understanding the relative influences of intrinsic and extrinsic effects on population regulation. Previous studies on the cyclic population dynamics of red grouse ( Lagopus lagopus scoticus ) have emphasized the destabilizing effects of either nematode parasites or territorial behaviour and aggression. The potential interacting effects of these processes, mediated through density‐dependent, en...

Theory predicts that the impact of gene flow on the genetic structure of populations in patchy habitats depends on its scale and the demographic attributes of demes (e.g. local colony sizes and timing of reproduction), but empirical evidence is scarce. We inferred the impact of gene flow on genetic structure among populations of water voles Arvicola terrestris that differed in average colony sizes, population turnover and degr...

Estimating the rate and scale of dispersal is essential for predicting the dynamics of fragmented populations, yet empirical estimates are typically imprecise and often negatively biased. We maximized detection of dispersal events between small, subdivided populations of water voles ( Arvicola terrestris ) using a novel method that combined direct capture–mark–recapture with microsatellite genotyping to identify parents and of...