Instability of spatial patterns and its ambiguous impact on species diversity

Reichenbach, Tobias und Frey, Erwin (August 2008): Instability of spatial patterns and its ambiguous impact on species diversity. In: Physical Review Letters, Bd. 101, Nr. 5: 058102-1

Abstract

Self-arrangement of individuals into spatial patterns often accompanies and promotes species diversity in ecological systems. Here, we investigate pattern formation arising from cyclic dominance of three species, operating near a bifurcation point. In its vicinity, an Eckhaus instability occurs, leading to convectively unstable "blurred" patterns. At the bifurcation point, stochastic effects dominate and induce counterintuitive effects on diversity: Large patterns, emerging for medium values of individuals' mobility, lead to rapid species extinction, while small patterns (low mobility) promote diversity, and high mobilities render spatial structures irrelevant. We provide a quantitative analysis of these phenomena, employing a complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Publikationsform: Publisher's Version
• Fakultät: Physik
• Themengebiete: 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik > 530 Physik
• ISSN: 0031-9007
• Ort: ONE PHYSICS ELLIPSE, COLLEGE PK, MD 20740-3844 USA
• Sprache: Englisch