Diffusion plays an unusual role in ecological quasi-neutral competition in metapopulations
arXiv:2011.08967 · doi:10.1007/s11071-020-06105-4
Abstract
We investigate the phenomenology emerging from a 2-species dynamics under the scenario of a quasi-neutral competition within a metapopulation framework. We employ stochastic and deterministic approaches, namely spatially-constrained individual-based Monte Carlo simulations and coupled mean-field ODEs. Our results show the multifold interplay between competition, birth-death dynamics and spatial constraints induces a nonmonotonic relation between the ecological majority-minority switching and the diffusion between patches. This means that diffusion can set off birth-death ratios and enhance the preservation of a species.
6 figures, 10 pages, to appear in Nonlinear Dynamics