This explains observations made, for instance, in the USA: according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program,
cyclical changes in the frequency of criminal offences can be found in several American states.
Although it is clear that further attention is required
in defining and characterizing the aspects of this variation (e.g.
frequency and amplitude [44,65]-RRB- that lead to differences
in species responses, a more immediate empirical challenge is to characterize and separate the effects of periodic, stochastic and / or
cyclical natural variations [61] from directional
change imposed by long - term climatic forcing.