Destabilization, stabilization, and multiple attractors in saturated mixotrophic environments

TL;DR

This paper models the invasion of mixotrophs in ecosystems, revealing they can stabilize or destabilize autotroph-herbivore dynamics and lead to multiple stable states, depending on environmental conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a hybrid model combining competition and predator-prey dynamics to analyze mixotroph invasion effects in ecosystems.

Findings

Mixotrophs can invade autotrophic and autotroph-herbivore environments.

Invasion can stabilize or destabilize ecosystem dynamics.

Multiple attractors can emerge due to mixotroph invasion.

Abstract

The ability of mixotrophs to combine phototrophy and phagotrophy is now well recognized and found to have important implications for ecosystem dynamics. In this paper we examine the dynamical consequences of the invasion of mixotrophs in a model that is a limiting case of the chemostat. The model is a hybrid of a competition model describing the competition between populations of autotroph and mixotroph for limiting resources, and a predator-prey type model describing the interaction between populations of autotroph and herbivore. Our results show that mixotrophs are able to invade in both autotrophic environments and environments described by interactions between autotrophs and herbivores. The interaction between autotrophs and herbivores might be in equilibrium or cycle. We find that invading mixotrophs have the ability to both stabilize and destabilize autotroph-herbivore dynamics depending on the competitive ability of mixotrophs. Moreover the invasion of mixotrophs can also result in multiple attractors. Therefore, our results reveal important consequences of mixotrophic invasions in ecosystems depending on environmental conditions.