A recent paper claims the existence of one of the most large-scale travelling waves ever recorded for any animal population. Here we address why conceptual and methodological pitfalls may have served to exaggerate or even impose the spatial patterns reported. Photo credit: Jane U. Jepsen.
Keywords: Operophtera brumata; local population dynamics; moth outbreaks; population synchrony; reaction-diffusion theory.
© 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2016 British Ecological Society.