Ecological chaos in the wake of invasion

Jonathan A. Sherratt, Mark A. Lewis, Andrew C. Fowler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Irregularities in observed population densities have traditionally been attributed to discretization of the underlying dynamics. We propose an alternative explanation by demonstrating the evolution of spatiotemporal chaos in reaction-diffusion models for predator-prey interactions. The chaos is generated naturally in the wake of invasive waves of predators. We discuss in detail the mechanism by which the chaos is generated. By considering a mathematical caricature of the predator-prey models, we go on to explain the dynamical origin of the irregular behavior and to justify our assertion that the behavior we present is a genuine example of spatiotemporal chaos.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2524-2528
Number of pages5
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume92
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Mar 1995
Externally publishedYes

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