Pattern formation and coarsening dynamics in apparent competition models

TL;DR

This study uses stochastic simulations to explore how predator mortality influences pattern formation and coarsening dynamics in apparent competition models, revealing a transition from prey segregation to coexistence.

Contribution

It demonstrates the central role of predators in pattern formation and coarsening dynamics, highlighting the impact of predator mortality on species coexistence and spatial domain structures.

Findings

Low predator mortality leads to prey-dominated domains with predator-rich interfaces.

Coarsening of interface networks follows a curvature-driven scaling law.

High predator mortality promotes coexistence and shared spatial regions.

Abstract

Apparent competition is an indirect interaction between species that share natural resources without any mutual aggression but negatively affect each other if there is a common enemy. The negative results of the apparent competition are reflected in the species spatial segregation, which impacts the dynamics of their populations. Performing a series of stochastic simulations, we study a model where organisms of two prey species do not compete for space but share a common predator. Our outcomes elucidate the central role played by the predator in the pattern formation and coarsening dynamics in apparent competition models. Investigating the effects of predator mortality on the persistence of the species, we find a crossover between a curvature driven scaling regime and a coexistence scenario. For low predator mortality, spatial domains mainly inhabited by one type of prey arise, surrounded by interfaces that mostly contain predators. We demonstrate that the dynamics of the interface network are curvature driven whose coarsening follows a scaling law common to other nonlinear systems. The effects of the apparent competition decrease for high predator mortality, allowing organisms of two prey species to share a more significant fraction of lattice. Finally, our results reveal that predation capacity in single-prey domains influences the scaling power law that characterises the coarsening dynamics. Our findings may be helpful to biologists to understand the pattern formation and dynamics of biodiversity in systems with apparent competition.