Many seemingly plausible mathematical models of small-scale ecological
interactions predict the self-organization of dynamic, coherent and l
arge-scale spatial patterns (e.g. spirals). if true, such patterns wou
ld have important ecological and evolutionary consequences, For the mo
st part, however, empirical studies have not corroborated their existe
nce, suggesting erroneous dynamics in the models, shortcomings in empi
rical methodology, or both. Arguments for categorically dismissing sel
f-organized patterns have been based on their assumed sensitivity to s
ymmetry-breaking stochastic noise, However, many plausible mechanisms
for generating patterns are robust to noise, and consequently broken s
ymmetry is insufficient grounds for dismissing these self-organized pa
tterns.