A delay nonautonomous model for the effects of fear and refuge on predator–prey interactions with water-level fluctuations

The interaction of prey (small fish) and predator (large fish) in lakes/ponds at temperate and tropical regions varies when water level fluctuates naturally during seasonal time. We relate the perceptible effect of fear and anti-predator behavior of prey with the water-level fluctuations and describe how these are influenced by the seasonal changing of water level. So, we consider these as time-dependent functions to make the system more realistic. Also, we incorporate the time-dependent delay in the negative growth rate of prey in predator–prey model with Crowley–Martin-type functional response. We clearly provide the basic dynamics of the system such as positiveness, permanence and nonpersistence. The existence of positive periodic solution is studied using Continuation theorem, and suffiecient conditions for globally attractivity of positive periodic solution are also derived. To make the system more comprehensive, we establish numerical simulations, and compare the dynamics of autonomous and nonautonomous systems in the absence as well as the presence of time delay. Our results show that seasonality and time delay create the occurrence of complex behavior such as prevalence of chaotic disorder which can be potentially suppressed by the cost of fear and prey refuge. Also, if time delay increases, then system leads a boundary periodic solution. Our findings assert that the predation, fear of predator and prey refuge are correlated with water-level variations, and give some reasonable biological interpretations for persistence as well as extinction of species due to water-level variations.

Complexity of a Discrete-Time Predator-Prey Model Involving Prey Refuge Proportional to Predator

In this paper, a discrete-time predator-prey model involving prey refuge proportional to predator density is studied. It is assumed that the rate at which prey moves to the refuge is proportional to the predator density. The fixed points, their local stability, and the existence of Neimark-Sacker bifurcation are investigated. At last, the numerical simulations consisting of bifurcation diagrams, phase portraits, and time-series are given to support analytical findings. The occurrence of chaotic solutions are also presented by showing the Lyapunov exponent while some parameters are varied.

Contrasting effects of prey refuge on biodiversity of species

Refugia have been perceived as a major role in structuring species biodiversity, and understanding the impacts of this force in a community assembly with prey–predator species is a difficult task because refuge process can interact with different ecological components and may show counterintuitive effects. To understand this problem, we used a simple two-species model incorporating a functional response inspired by a Holling type-II equation and a prey refuge mechanism that depends on prey and predator population densities (i.e., density-dependent prey refuge). We then perform the co-dimension one and co-dimension two bifurcation analysis to examine steady states and its stability, together with the bifurcation points as different parameters change. As the capacity of prey refuge is varied, there occur critical values i.e., saddle-node and supercritical Hopf bifurcations. The interaction between these two co-dimension one bifurcations engenders distinct outcomes of ecological system such as coexistence of species, bistability phenomena and oscillatory dynamics. Additionally, we construct a parameter space diagram illustrating the dynamics of species interactions as prey refuge intensity and predation pressure vary; as the two saddle-node move nearer to one another, these bifurcations annihilate tangentially in a co-dimension two cusp bifurcation. We also realised several contrasting observations of refuge process on species biodiversity: for instance, while it is believed that some refuge processes (e.g., constant proportion of prey refuge) would result in exclusion of predator species, our findings show that density-dependent prey refuge is beneficial for both predator and prey species, and consequently, promotes the maintenance of species biodiversity.

Stability and bifurcations of a discrete-time prey-predator system with constant prey refuge

In ecology, by refuge an organism attains protection from predation by hiding in an area where it is unreachable or cannot simply be found. In population dynamics, once refuges are available, both prey-predator populations are expressively greater and meaningfully extra species can be sustained in the region. This examine the stability of a discrete predator prey model incorporating with constant prey refuge. Existence results and the stability conditions of the system are analyzed by obtaining fixed points and Jacobian matrix. The chaotic behavior of the system is discussed with bifurcation diagrams. Numerical experiments are simulated for the better understanding of the qualitative behavior of the considered model. Mathematics Subject Classification. [2010] : 37C25, 39A28, 39A30, 92D25.

Dynamics on Effect of Prey Refuge Proportional to Predator in Discrete-Time Prey-Predator Model

Prey-predator models with refuge effect have great importance in the context of ecology. Constant refuge and refuge proportional to prey are the most popular concepts of refuge in the existing literature. Now, there are new different types of refuge concepts attracting researchers. This study considers a refuge concept proportional to the predator due to the fear induced by predators. When predators increase, fears also increase and that is why prey refuges also increase. Here, we examine the influence of prey refuge proportional to predator effect in a discrete prey-predator interaction with the Holling type II functional response model. Is this refuge stabilizing or destabilizing the system? That is the central question of this study. The existence and stability of fixed points, Period-Doubling Bifurcation, Neimark–Sacker Bifurcation, the influence of prey refuge, and chaos are analyzed. This work provides the bifurcation diagrams and Lyapunov exponents to analyze the refuge parameter of the model. The proposed discrete model indicates rich dynamics as the effect of prey refuge through numerical simulations.