Effects of pest control on a food chain in patchy environment: Species-dependent activity range on multilayer graphs.

Ecosystems on earth are strongly affected by human life. We pay attention to pest control in a patchy environment. To date, many authors have reported the indeterminacy in pest control. Most of these works have been studied in single-habitat systems. In the present article, however, we consider a food chain model (prey, predator and top predator) on five networks of patches, where node and link denote habitable patch and migration path, respectively. Each network includes three layers which represent the activity ranges of respective species. Reaction-migration equations are solved analytically and numerically. It is found the dynamics largely change depending on the geometry of networks. When removal rate of top predator is increased, the so-called "top-down effect" is commonly observed. In this case, the pest control will be successful, but extinction point of top predator largely differs on different networks. When removal rate of intermediate predator is increased, the responses of system become complicated. The responses differ not only for each patch but also for each geometry. Hence, the pest control on intermediate predators may fail.

Metapopulation dynamics in the rock-paper-scissors game with mutation: Effects of time-varying migration paths.

Migration paths of animals are rarely the same. The paths may change according to seasonal and circadian rhythms. We study the effect of temporal migration on population dynamics of rock-paper-scissors (RPS) games with mutation by using the metapopulation dynamic model with two patches. Via mutation, an individual R changes to S with rate µ. All agents move by random walk between two patches and the RPS game is performed in each patch. The migration path between two patches is switched on or off periodically. The dynamics are represented by the reaction-diffusion equations with time-dependent diffusion coefficients in diffusively coupled reactors. We obtain the solutions of time-dependent reaction-diffusion equations numerically and analytically. The time-varying migration path induces complex behavior for the RPS dynamics, depending on the frequency of the periodical path. We find that the phase transitions occur by varying mutation rate µ. The phase transition depends highly on the frequency.

Metapopulation model of rock-scissors-paper game with subpopulation-specific victory rates stabilized by heterogeneity.

Recently, metapopulation models for rock-paper-scissors games have been presented. Each subpopulation is represented by a node on a graph. An individual is either rock (R), scissors (S) or paper (P); it randomly migrates among subpopulations. In the present paper, we assume victory rates differ in different subpopulations. To investigate the dynamic state of each subpopulation (node), we numerically obtain the solutions of reaction-diffusion equations on the graphs with two and three nodes. In the case of homogeneous victory rates, we find each subpopulation has a periodic solution with neutral stability. However, when victory rates between subpopulations are heterogeneous, the solution approaches stable focuses. The heterogeneity of victory rates promotes the coexistence of species.

Heterogeneous network promotes species coexistence: metapopulation model for rock-paper-scissors game.

Understanding mechanisms of biodiversity has been a central question in ecology. The coexistence of three species in rock-paper-scissors (RPS) systems are discussed by many authors; however, the relation between coexistence and network structure is rarely discussed. Here we present a metapopulation model for RPS game. The total population is assumed to consist of three subpopulations (nodes). Each individual migrates by random walk; the destination of migration is randomly determined. From reaction-migration equations, we obtain the population dynamics. It is found that the dynamic highly depends on network structures. When a network is homogeneous, the dynamics are neutrally stable: each node has a periodic solution, and the oscillations synchronize in all nodes. However, when a network is heterogeneous, the dynamics approach stable focus and all nodes reach equilibriums with different densities. Hence, the heterogeneity of the network promotes biodiversity.

Asymptotic stability of a modified Lotka-Volterra model with small immigrations.

Predator-prey systems have been studied intensively for over a hundred years. These studies have demonstrated that the dynamics of Lotka-Volterra (LV) systems are not stable, that is, exhibiting either cyclic oscillation or divergent extinction of one species. Stochastic versions of the deterministic cyclic oscillations also exhibit divergent extinction. Thus, we have no solution for asymptotic stability in predator-prey systems, unlike most natural predator-prey interactions that sometimes exhibit stable and persistent coexistence. Here, we demonstrate that adding a small immigration into the prey or predator population can stabilize the LV system. Although LV systems have been studied intensively, there is no study on the non-linear modifications that we have tested. We also checked the effect of the inclusion of non-linear interaction term to the stability of the LV system. Our results show that small immigrations invoke stable convergence in the LV system with three types of functional responses. This means that natural predator-prey populations can be stabilized by a small number of sporadic immigrants.

Epidemics of random walkers in metapopulation model for complete, cycle, and star graphs.

We present the metapopulation dynamic model for epidemic spreading of random walkers between subpopulations. A subpopulation is represented by a node on a graph. Each agent or individual is either susceptible (S) or infected (I). All agents move by random walk on the graph; namely, each agent randomly determines the destination of migration. The reaction-diffusion equations are presented as ordinary differential equations, not partial differential equations. To evaluate the risk of each subpopulation (node), we obtain the solutions of reaction-diffusion equations analytically and numerically for small, complete, cycle and star graphs. If a graph is homogeneous, or if every node has the same degree, then the solution never changes for any nodes. However, when a graph is heterogeneous, the infection density in equilibrium differs entirely among nodes. For example, on star graphs, the hub seems to be a supply source of disease because the infection density at the hub is much higher than that at the other nodes. On every graph, the epidemic thresholds are identical for all nodes.

Metapopulation model for rock-paper-scissors game: Mutation affects paradoxical impacts.

The rock-paper-scissors (RPS) game is known as one of the simplest cyclic dominance models. This game is key to understanding biodiversity. Three species, rock (R), paper (P) and scissors (S), can coexist in nature. In the present paper, we first present a metapopulation model for RPS game with mutation. Only mutation from R to S is allowed. The total population consists of spatially separated patches, and the mutation occurs in particular patches. We present reaction-diffusion equations which have two terms: reaction and migration terms. The former represents the RPS game with mutation, while the latter corresponds to random walk. The basic equations are solved analytically and numerically. It is found that the mutation induces one of three phases: the stable coexistence of three species, the stable phase of two species, and a single-species phase. The phase transitions among three phases occur by varying the mutation rate. We find the conditions for coexistence are largely changed depending on metapopulation models. We also find that the mutation induces different paradoxes in different patches.

Multi-species coexistence in Lotka-Volterra competitive systems with crowding effects.

Classical Lotka-Volterra (LV) competition equation has shown that coexistence of competitive species is only possible when intraspecific competition is stronger than interspecific competition, i.e., the species inhibit their own growth more than the growth of the other species. Note that density effect is assumed to be linear in a classical LV equation. In contrast, in wild populations we can observed that mortality rate often increases when population density is very high, known as crowding effects. Under this perspective, the aggregation models of competitive species have been developed, adding the additional reduction in growth rates at high population densities. This study shows that the coexistence of a few species is promoted. However, an unsolved question is the coexistence of many competitive species often observed in natural communities. Here, we build an LV competition equation with a nonlinear crowding effect. Our results show that under a weak crowding effect, stable coexistence of many species becomes plausible, unlike the previous aggregation model. An analysis indicates that increased mortality rate under high density works as elevated intraspecific competition leading to the coexistence. This may be another mechanism for the coexistence of many competitive species leading high species diversity in nature.

Effect of directional migration on Lotka-Volterra system with desert.

Migration is observed across many species. Several authors have studied ecological migration by applying cellular automaton (CA). In this paper, we present a directional migration model with desert on a one-dimensional lattice where a traffic CA model and a lattice Lotka-Volterra system are connected. Here predators correspond to locomotive animals while prey is immobile plants. Predators migrate between deserts and fertile lands repeatedly. Computer simulations reveal the two types of phase transition: coexistence of both species and prey dominance, which is caused by both benefit and cost of migration. In the coexistence phase, the steady-state density of predators usually increases by migration as long as the desert size is small and their mortality rate is low. In contrast, the prey density increases, even if the desert size becomes large. Such a paradox comes from the indirect effect: predators go extinct by the increase of desert size, so that the plant density can increase. Moreover, we find several self-organized spatial patterns: 1) predators form a stripe pattern; namely swarms. 2) The velocity of predators is high on deserts, but very low on fertile land. 3) Predators give birth only on fertile lands.

Experiment, theory, and simulation of the evacuation of a room without visibility.

We study the evacuation process from a smoky room by means of experiments and simulations. People in a dark or smoky room are mimicked by "blind" students wearing eye masks. The evacuation of the disoriented students from the room is observed by video cameras, and the escape time of each student is measured. We find that the disoriented students exhibit a distinctly different behavior compared to a situation in which people can see their environment. Our experimental results are related to a theoretical approach and reproduced by an extended lattice gas model taking into account the empirically observed behavior. Our particular focus is on the mean value and distribution of escape times. For a large number of people in the room, the escape time distribution is wide because of jamming. Surprisingly, adding more exits does not improve the situation in the expected way, since most people use the exit that is discovered first, which may be viewed as a kind of herding effect based on nonlocal, but direct acoustic interactions. Moreover, the average escape time becomes minimal for a certain finite number of people in the dark or smoky room. These nonlinear effects have practical implications for emergency evacuation and the planning of safer buildings.

Fluctuation of riding passengers induced by chaotic motions of shuttle buses.

We study the fluctuation of the number of riding passengers in a few shuttle buses that pass each other freely. We present a dynamical model of the shuttle buses that takes into account the maximum capacity of a bus. The dynamics of the buses is expressed in terms of a coupled nonlinear map with noise. The number of passengers carried by a bus and the time headway between buses exhibit complex behavior with varying trips. It is found that the behavior of the buses exhibits deterministic chaos even if there is no noise. The chaotic motion depends on the loading parameter, the maximum capacity of a bus, the bus's speed, and the number of buses. When the loading parameter is larger than a threshold value, each bus carries a full load of passengers throughout its trip. The dependence of the threshold (transition point) on both capacity and speed is clarified.

Lattice gas simulation of experimentally studied evacuation dynamics.

We study the evacuation process from a classroom by means of experiments and simulations. The evacuation of students from a classroom is observed by video cameras, and the escape time of each student is measured. Our experimental results are compared with simulations based on a lattice gas model of pedestrian flows. We find that the empirically identified inefficiencies of the evacuation process can be well reproduced. Our particular focus is on the spatial dependence of the escape times on the initial positions, which is highly significant. The escape time distribution turns out to be rather broad due to a jamming (queuing) of the students at the exit, which determines not only the saturation flow (capacity) but also the temporal characteristics of the evacuation dynamics.

Chaotic and periodic motions of a cyclic bus induced by speedup.

We study the effect of speedup on the dynamical behavior of a single cyclic bus in a bus system with many bus stops. We present a nonlinear-map model of a cyclic bus to take into account the speedup. When the cyclic bus is delayed, the bus speeds up to retrieve the delay. It is found that the cyclic bus exhibits chaotic motion with increasing speedup. The chaotic motion depends on both speedup and the number of bus stops. Also, it is shown that the dynamical transition between the chaotic and periodic motions occurs with the increase of bus stops. The dependence of the recurrence time (one period) and Liapunov exponent on both speedup and the number of bus stops is calculated for distinct dynamic states. It is shown that the speedup has a significant effect on the bus motion. For a piecewise linear-map model, the cyclic bus does not exhibit the chaotic motion but a complex oscillatory motion with multiple periods occurs.