Do parasite burdens in spring influence condition and fecundity of female mountain hares Lepus timidus?

© WILDLIFE BIOLOGY · 10:3 (2004) Studies of the cyclic fluctuations of northern vertebrate species have played a central role in the development and understanding of population dynamics (Royama 1992). They have allowed examination of the nature of density dependence, the mechanisms and scale of synchrony and the role of stochastic factors in maintaining instability (Stenseth 1999, Lindström, Ranta, Kokko, Lundberg & Kaitala 2001). However, even though it is 75 years since Elton (1927) first described cycles in lynx fur returns, there is still no clear consensus Do parasite burdens in spring influence condition and fecundity of female mountain hares Lepus timidus?