Self-organization, scaling and collapse in a coupled automaton model of foragers and vegetation resources with seed dispersal

Details Self-organization, scaling and collapse in a coupled automaton model of foragers and vegetation resources with seed dispersal Self-organization, scaling and collapse in a coupled automaton model of foragers and vegetation resources with seed dispersal

2009-02-05

arxiv.org/abs/0902.0950v1

Biology

Quantitative Biology

Populations and Evolution

11 pages, 5 figures

Scientific paper

We introduce a model of traveling agents ({\it e.g.} frugivorous animals) who feed on randomly located vegetation patches and disperse their seeds, thus modifying the spatial distribution of resources in the long term. It is assumed that the survival probability of a seed increases with the distance to the parent patch and decreases with the size of the colonized patch. In turn, the foraging agents use a deterministic strategy with memory, that makes them visit the largest possible patches accessible within minimal travelling distances. The combination of these interactions produce complex spatio-temporal patterns. If the patches have a small initial size, the vegetation total mass (biomass) increases with time and reaches a maximum corresponding to a self-organized critical state with power-law distributed patch sizes and L\'evy-like movement patterns for the foragers. However, this state collapses as the biomass sharply decreases to reach a noisy stationary regime characterized by corrections to scaling. In systems with low plant competition, the efficiency of the foraging rules leads to the formation of heterogeneous vegetation patterns with $1/f^{\alpha}$ frequency spectra, and contributes, rather counter-intuitively, to lower the biomass levels.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Self-organization, scaling and collapse in a coupled automaton model of foragers and vegetation resources with seed dispersal does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Self-organization, scaling and collapse in a coupled automaton model of foragers and vegetation resources with seed dispersal, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Self-organization, scaling and collapse in a coupled automaton model of foragers and vegetation resources with seed dispersal will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-26207