Mechanisms for stable coexistence in an insect community
In this paper, we formulate a three-speciesecological community model consisting of two aphid species ( Acyrthosiphon pisum and Megoura viciae) and a specialistparasitoid ( Aphidius ervi) that attacks only one of the aphids( A pisum). The model incorporates both density-mediated andtrait-mediate...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AIMS Press
2010-05-01
|
| Series: | Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.aimspress.com/article/doi/10.3934/mbe.2010.7.603 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | In this paper, we formulate a three-speciesecological community model consisting of two aphid species ( Acyrthosiphon pisum and Megoura viciae) and a specialistparasitoid ( Aphidius ervi) that attacks only one of the aphids( A pisum). The model incorporates both density-mediated andtrait-mediated host-parasitoid interactions. Our analysis showsthat the model possesses much richer and more realistic dynamicsthan earlier models. Our theoretical results reveal a new mechanismfor stable coexistence in a three-species community in which anytwo species alone do not co-exist. More specifically, it is known that,when a predator is introducedinto a community of two competing species, if the predator onlypredates on the strong competitor, it can allow the weak competitorto survive, but may drive the strong competitor to extinctionthrough over-exploitation. We show that if the weak competitorinterferes the predation on the strong competitor through trait-mediatedindirect effects,then all three species can stably co-exist. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1551-0018 |