Antipredator behavior in the rock-paper-scissors model

TL;DR

This study explores how antipredator behaviors influence spatial dynamics and biodiversity in rock-paper-scissors models, revealing that such behaviors can induce spiral patterns and affect species coexistence.

Contribution

It introduces a novel spatial model incorporating antipredator strategies into the rock-paper-scissors game, showing their impact on pattern formation and biodiversity.

Findings

Antipredator behavior induces spiral wave patterns.

Predation risk decreases exponentially with antipredator strength.

High mobility combined with antipredator behavior reduces coexistence probability.

Abstract

When faced with an imminent risk of predation, many animals react to escape consumption. Antipredator strategies are performed by individuals acting as a group to intimidate predators and minimize the damage when attacked. We study the antipredator prey response in spatial tritrophic systems with cyclic species dominance using the rock-paper-scissors game. The impact of the antipredator behavior is local, with the predation probability reducing exponentially with the number of preys in the predator's neighborhood. In contrast to the standard Lotka-Volterra implementation of the rock-paper-scissors model, where no spiral waves appear, our outcomes show that the antipredator behavior leads to spiral patterns from random initial conditions. The results show that the predation risk decreases exponentially with the level of antipredator strength. Finally, we investigate the coexistence probability and verify that antipredator behavior may jeopardize biodiversity for high mobility. Our findings may help biologists to understand ecosystems formed by species whose individuals behave strategically to resist predation.