title: Ecological chaos in the wake of invasion.
abstract: Irregularities in observed population densities have traditionally been attributed to discretization of the underlying dynamics. We propose an alternative explanation by demonstrating the evolution of spatiotemporal chaos in reaction-diffusion models for predator-prey interactions. The chaos is generated naturally in the wake of invasive waves of predators. We discuss in detail the mechanism by which the chaos is generated. By considering a mathematical caricature of the predator-prey models, we go on to explain the dynamical origin of the irregular behavior and to justify our assertion that the behavior we present is a genuine example of spatiotemporal chaos.
authors.affiliation: Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sherratt
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Fowler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004463:Ecology; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011156:Population Density; D011235:Predatory Behavior