Contact and voter processes on the infinite percolation cluster as models of host-symbiont interactions

TL;DR

This paper models host-symbiont interactions on an infinite percolation cluster using stochastic processes, analyzing invasion conditions and coexistence patterns across different dimensions.

Contribution

It introduces spatially explicit stochastic models for multispecies host-symbiont interactions on percolation clusters, with new insights into invasion and coexistence dynamics.

Findings

Single species invasion depends on habitat density and colony size.

Symbiont communities cluster in two dimensions.

Multiple species coexistence possible in higher dimensions.

Abstract

We introduce spatially explicit stochastic processes to model multispecies host-symbiont interactions. The host environment is static, modeled by the infinite percolation cluster of site percolation. Symbionts evolve on the infinite cluster through contact or voter type interactions, where each host may be infected by a colony of symbionts. In the presence of a single symbiont species, the condition for invasion as a function of the density of the habitat of hosts and the maximal size of the colonies is investigated in details. In the presence of multiple symbiont species, it is proved that the community of symbionts clusters in two dimensions whereas symbiont species may coexist in higher dimensions.