An interdisciplinary approach to understanding nonlinear ecological dynamics

We describe a research program which covers a spectrum of activities essential to testing nonlinear population theory: from the translation of the biology into the formal language of mathematics, to the analysis of mathematical models, to the development and application of statistical techniques for the analysis of data, to the design and implementation of biological experiments. The statistical analyses, mathematics, and biology are thoroughly integrated. We review several aspects of our current research effort that demonstrate this integration.