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The length of time series affects patterns of species synchrony

Using theoretical and empirical analyses, we demonstrate that species synchrony itself and its relationships with species diversity and competition strength could exhibit opposite patterns in short versus long time series. This finding challenges the implicit assumption in ecological studies that observational length should not qualitatively alter patterns of interest.

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Fig. 1: Effects of time-series length on species synchrony.

References

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This is a summary of: Luo, M. et al. Short time series obscure compensatory dynamics in ecological communities. Nat. Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02757-w (2025).

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The length of time series affects patterns of species synchrony. Nat Ecol Evol 9, 1321–1322 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02778-5

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