Extinction dynamics of Lotka-Volterra ecosystems on evolving networks

Abstract

We study a model of a multi-species ecosystem described by Lotka-Volterra-like equations. Interactions among species form a network whose evolution is determined by the dynamics of the model. Numerical simulations show power-law distribution of intervals between extinctions, but only for ecosystems with sufficient variability of species and with networks of connectivity above certain threshold that is very close to the percolation threshold of the network. Effect of slow environmental changes on extinction dynamics, degree distribution of the network of interspecies interactions, and some emergent properties of our model are also examined.

8 pages, 6 eps figures included

References in corpus (5)

• Statistical mechanics of complex networks
• Biological Evolution and Statistical Physics
• Punctuated equilibria and 1/f noise in a biological coevolution model with individual-based dynamics
• Power of the power-laws: lessons from unification of small and large time scales for evolution
• Ecological model of extinctions

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• Long-term evolution of an ecosystem with spontaneous periodicity of mass extinctions
• Global dynamics of a family of 3D Lotka-Volterra Systems
• Network growth approach to macroevolution
• The Tangled nature model with inheritance and constraint: Evolutionary ecology restricted by a conserved resource
• Computational modelling of evolution: ecosystems and language