Figure 15.13 Cyclic population fluctuations of forest tent caterpillars. At three sites in the province of Ontario, researchers quantified the population sizes of tent caterpillars by measuring the intensity of leaf removal on the trees. Over a 60-year period, the caterpillars exhibited large population fluctuations every 10 to 15 years. The rapidly growing populations ultimately succumb to an outbreak of infection by a virus and the populations quickly die back.

Data from B. J. Cooke et al., The dynamics of forest tent caterpillar outbreaks across east-central Canada, Ecography 35 (2012): 422–435.