The effects of obstacle size on periodic travelling waves in oscillatory reaction–diffusion equations

Author(s):  
Matthew J Smith ◽  
Jonathan A Sherratt ◽  
Nicola J Armstrong

Many natural populations undergo multi-year cycles, and field studies have shown that these can be organized into periodic travelling waves (PTWs). Mathematical studies have shown that large-scale landscape obstacles represent a natural mechanism for wave generation. Here, we investigate how the amplitude and wavelength of the selected waves depend on the obstacle size. We firstly consider a large circular obstacle in an infinite domain for a reaction–diffusion system of ‘ λ – ω ’ type. We use perturbation theory to derive a leading order approximation to the wave generated by the obstacle. This shows the dependence of the wave properties on both parameter values and obstacle size. We find that the limiting values of the amplitude and wavelength are approached algebraically with distance from the obstacle edge, rather than exponentially in the case of a flat boundary. We use our results to predict the properties of waves generated by a large circular obstacle for an oscillatory predator–prey system, via a reduction of the predator–prey model to normal form close to Hopf bifurcation. Our predictions compare well with numerical simulations. We also discuss the implications of these results for wave stability and briefly investigate the effects of obstacles with elliptical geometries.

Author(s):  
Michael Sieber ◽  
Horst Malchow ◽  
Sergei V. Petrovskii

Ecological field data suggest that some species show periodic changes in abundance over time and in a specific spatial direction. Periodic travelling waves as solutions to reaction–diffusion equations have helped to identify possible scenarios, by which such spatio-temporal patterns may arise. In this paper, such solutions are tested for their robustness against an irregular temporal forcing, since most natural populations can be expected to be subject to erratic fluctuations imposed by the environment. It is found that small environmental noise is able to suppress periodic travelling waves in stochastic variants of oscillatory reaction–diffusion systems. Irregular spatio-temporal oscillations, however, appear to be more robust and persist under the same stochastic forcing.


1995 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan A. Sherratt

Diffusion-driven instability in systems of reaction-diffusion equations is a commonly used model for pattern formation in both embryology and ecology. In ecological applications, model parameters tend to oscillate in time, because of either daily or seasonal fluctuations in the environment. I investigate the effects of such fluctuations on diffusion-driven instability by considering analytically the possibility of Turing bifurcations when the parameter values (diffusion coefficients and kinetic parameters) oscillate in time between two sets of constant values, with a period that is either very short or very long compared to the time scale of the growth and predation kinetics. I show that oscillations in the kinetics can have quite different effects from oscillations in the dispersal terms. I also discuss the comparison between the solution forms predicted by linear theory and the numerical solutions of a simple nonlinear predator-prey model.


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (22) ◽  
pp. 483-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan A Sherratt ◽  
Matthew J Smith

Periodic travelling waves have been reported in a number of recent spatio-temporal field studies of populations undergoing multi-year cycles. Mathematical modelling has a major role to play in understanding these results and informing future empirical studies. We review the relevant field data and summarize the statistical methods used to detect periodic waves. We then discuss the mathematical theory of periodic travelling waves in oscillatory reaction–diffusion equations. We describe the notion of a wave family, and various ecologically relevant scenarios in which periodic travelling waves occur. We also discuss wave stability, including recent computational developments. Although we focus on oscillatory reaction–diffusion equations, a brief discussion of other types of model in which periodic travelling waves have been demonstrated is also included. We end by proposing 10 research challenges in this area, five mathematical and five empirical.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengmao Fu ◽  
Lina Zhang

In this paper, we consider a cross-diffusion predator-prey model with sex structure. We prove that cross-diffusion can destabilize a uniform positive equilibrium which is stable for the ODE system and for the weakly coupled reaction-diffusion system. As a result, we find that stationary patterns arise solely from the effect of cross-diffusion.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valaire Yatat ◽  
Yves Dumont

This paper deals with the problem of travelling wave solutions in a scalar impulsive FKPP-like equation. It is a first step of a more general study that aims to address existence of travelling wave solutions for systems of impulsive reaction-diffusion equations that model ecological systems dynamics such as fire-prone savannas. Using results on scalar recursion equations, we show existence of populated vs. extinction travelling waves invasion and compute an explicit expression of their spreading speed (characterized as the minimal speed of such travelling waves). In particular, we find that the spreading speed explicitly depends on the time between two successive impulses. In addition, we carry out a comparison with the case of time-continuous events. We also show that depending on the time between two successive impulses, the spreading speed with pulse events could be lower, equal or greater than the spreading speed in the case of time-continuous events. Finally, we apply our results to a model of fire-prone grasslands and show that pulse fires event may slow down the grassland vs. bare soil invasion speed.


2004 ◽  
Vol 14 (06) ◽  
pp. 883-911 ◽  
Author(s):  
PIERO COLLI FRANZONE ◽  
LUCA F. PAVARINO

In this work, a parallel three-dimensional solver for numerical simulations in computational electrocardiology is introduced and studied. The solver is based on the anisotropic Bidomain cardiac model, consisting of a system of two degenerate parabolic reaction–diffusion equations describing the intra and extracellular potentials of the myocardial tissue. This model includes intramural fiber rotation and anisotropic conductivity coefficients that can be fully orthotropic or axially symmetric around the fiber direction. The solver also includes the simpler anisotropic Monodomain model, consisting of only one reaction–diffusion equation. These cardiac models are coupled with a membrane model for the ionic currents, consisting of a system of ordinary differential equations that can vary from the simple FitzHugh–Nagumo (FHN) model to the more complex phase-I Luo–Rudy model (LR1). The solver employs structured isoparametric Q1finite elements in space and a semi-implicit adaptive method in time. Parallelization and portability are based on the PETSc parallel library. Large-scale computations with up to O(107) unknowns have been run on parallel computers, simulating excitation and repolarization phenomena in three-dimensional domains.


Author(s):  
Feng Rao

Predator–prey models in ecology serve a variety of purposes, which range from illustrating a scientific concept to representing a complex natural phenomenon. Due to the complexity and variability of the environment, the dynamic behavior obtained from existing predator–prey models often deviates from reality. Many factors remain to be considered, such as external forcing, harvesting and so on. In this chapter, we study a spatial version of the Ivlev-type predator-prey model that includes reaction-diffusion, external periodic forcing, and constant harvesting rate on prey. Using this model, we study how external periodic forcing affects the stability of predator-prey coexistence equilibrium. The results of spatial pattern analysis of the Ivlev-type predator-prey model with zero-flux boundary conditions, based on the Euler method and via numerical simulations in MATLAB, show that the model generates rich dynamics. Our results reveal that modeling by reaction-diffusion equations with external periodic forcing and nonzero constant prey harvesting could be used to make general predictions regarding predator-prey equilibrium,which may be used to guide management practice, and to provide a basis for the development of statistical tools and testable hypotheses.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document