Patterns robust to Disorder in spatially-interacting Generalized Lotka-Volterra Ecosystems

TL;DR

This paper investigates how species interactions and spatial dynamics influence ecosystem stability and pattern formation, revealing a transition in species distribution patterns linked to the spectral properties of interaction matrices.

Contribution

It introduces a spatially-extended Generalized Lotka-Volterra model with nonlocal interactions, deriving stability criteria and explicit solutions for species density in disordered ecosystems.

Findings

Stability depends on the most abundant species and interaction range.

Identifies a Baik-Ben Arous-Péché transition affecting species patterns.

Provides an explicit solution for species density in small disorder regimes.

Abstract

How do interactions between species influence their spatial distribution in an ecosystem? To answer this question, we introduce a spatially-extended ecosystem of Generalized Lotka-Volterra type, where species can diffuse and interactions are nonlocal. We compute the criterion for the loss of stability of the spatially homogeneous ecosystem, and we show that the stability of the uniform state crucially depends on the most abundant species, and on the interplay between space exploration during one species generation and the interaction range. Focusing on the spectrum of the interaction matrix weighted by the species abundances, we identify a Baik-Ben Arous-P\'ech\'e transition that translates into a transition in the final patterns of the species repartition. Finally assuming that the disorder is small, we exhibit an explicit solution of the dynamical mean-field equation for the species density, obtained as the fixed point of a nonlocal Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovski-Piskounov equation. Our work paves the way of future combined approaches at the frontier of active matter and disordered systems, with the hope of better understanding complex ecosystems like bacterial communities.