Author(s)

Marvin Chester

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Is there an overriding principle of nature, hitherto overlooked, that governs all population behavior? A single principle that drives all the regimes observed in nature exponential-like growth, saturated growth, population decline, population extinction, oscillatory behavior? In current orthodox population theory, this diverse range of population behaviors is described by many different equations each with its own specific justification. The signature of an overriding principle would be a differential equation which, in a single statement, embraces all the panoply of regimes. A candidate such governing equation is proposed. The principle from which the equation is derived is this: The effect on the environment of a population’s success is to alter that environment in a way that opposes the success.

Population Dynamics; Ecology; Population evolution; Exponential Growth; Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics; Biology

Chester, M. (2011) A law of nature?. Open Journal of Ecology, 1, 77-84. doi: 10.4236/oje.2011.13011.