# Threshold-activated transport stabilizes chaotic populations to steady states

## TL;DR

This study shows that threshold-activated dispersal in chaotic population networks can stabilize populations, with control effectiveness influenced by network structure and migration rates.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism of threshold-activated dispersal for stabilizing chaotic populations in complex networks.

## Key findings

- Threshold-activated dispersal stabilizes populations across various thresholds.
- Faster migration relative to local dynamics enhances chaos suppression.
- Open network nodes and their centrality significantly influence control effectiveness.

## Abstract

We explore Random Scale-Free networks of populations, modelled by chaotic Ricker maps, connected by transport that is triggered when population density in a patch is in excess of a critical threshold level. Our central result is that threshold-activated dispersal leads to stable fixed populations, for a wide range of threshold levels. Further, suppression of chaos is facilitated when the threshold-activated migration is more rapid than the intrinsic population dynamics of a patch. Additionally, networks with large number of nodes open to the environment, readily yield stable steady states. Lastly we demonstrate that in networks with very few open nodes, the degree and betweeness centrality of the node open to the environment has a pronounced influence on control. All qualitative trends are corroborated by quantitative measures, reflecting the efficiency of control, and the width of the steady state window.