Effects of demographic noise on the synchronization of a metapopulation in a fluctuating environment.
We use the theory of noise-induced phase synchronization to analyze the effects of demographic noise on the synchronization of a metapopulation of predator-prey systems within a fluctuating environment (Moran effect). Treating each local predator-prey population as a stochastic urn model, we derive a Langevin equation for the stochastic dynamics of the metapopulation. Assuming each local population acts as a limit cycle oscillator in the deterministic limit, we use phase reduction and averaging methods to derive the steady-state probability density for pairwise phase differences between oscillators, which is then used to determine the degree of synchronization of the metapopulation.
Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, 24-26 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LB, United Kingdom.
Yi Ming
YM
Lai
Jay
J
Newby
Paul C
PC
Bressloff
D000818:Animals; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004777:Environment; D008954:Models, Biological; D009716:Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013997:Time Factors