TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of excess food nutrient content on a tritrophic food chain model in the aquatic ecosystem
AU - Asik, Lale
AU - Chen, Ming
AU - Peace, Angela
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/4/21
Y1 - 2020/4/21
N2 - Ecological stoichiometry is an approach that focuses on the balance of energy and elements in environmental interactions, and it leads to new insights and a better understanding of ecological processes and outcomes. Modeling under this framework enables us to investigate the effects of nutrient content (i.e., food quality) on organisms, whether the imbalance involves insufficient or excess nutrient content. In this paper, we develop and analyze a tritrophic food chain model that captures the phenomenon known as the “stoichiometric knife-edge”, where consumer growth is limited under conditions of excess nutrients. The model tracks two essential elements, carbon and phosphorus, in each species. The dynamics of the system such as boundedness and positivity of the solutions, existence and stability conditions of boundary and internal equilibria are analyzed. Through numerical simulations and bifurcation analyses, we observe the dynamics of the system switching between periodic oscillations and chaos. Our findings also show that nutrient-rich food consumption can cause adverse effects on species.
AB - Ecological stoichiometry is an approach that focuses on the balance of energy and elements in environmental interactions, and it leads to new insights and a better understanding of ecological processes and outcomes. Modeling under this framework enables us to investigate the effects of nutrient content (i.e., food quality) on organisms, whether the imbalance involves insufficient or excess nutrient content. In this paper, we develop and analyze a tritrophic food chain model that captures the phenomenon known as the “stoichiometric knife-edge”, where consumer growth is limited under conditions of excess nutrients. The model tracks two essential elements, carbon and phosphorus, in each species. The dynamics of the system such as boundedness and positivity of the solutions, existence and stability conditions of boundary and internal equilibria are analyzed. Through numerical simulations and bifurcation analyses, we observe the dynamics of the system switching between periodic oscillations and chaos. Our findings also show that nutrient-rich food consumption can cause adverse effects on species.
KW - Chaos
KW - Ecological stoichiometry
KW - Maximum Lyapunov exponent
KW - Stoichiometric knife-edge
KW - Tritrophic food chain model
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85079372599&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110183
DO - 10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110183
M3 - Article
C2 - 32044286
AN - SCOPUS:85079372599
SN - 0022-5193
VL - 491
JO - Journal of Theoretical Biology
JF - Journal of Theoretical Biology
M1 - 110183
ER -