Studies of populations oscillating through time have a long history in
ecology as these dynamics can help provide insights into the causes of
population regulation. A particularly difficult challenge is determining
the relative role of deterministic versus stochastic forces in producing
this oscillatory behavior. Another classic ecological study area is the
study of spatial synchrony which also has helped unravel underlying
population dynamic principles. One possible approach to understanding
the causes of population cycles is based on the idea that a focus on
spatiotemporal behavior, oscillations in coupled populations, can
provide much further insight into the relative role of deterministic
versus stochastic forces. Using ideas based on concepts from statistical
physics, we develop results showing that in a system with coupling
between adjacent populations, a study of spatial synchrony provides much
information about the underlying causes of oscillations. Novel, to
ecology, measures of spatial synchrony are a key step.