title: Pattern Formation in Populations with Density-Dependent Movement and Two Interaction Scales.
abstract: We study the spatial patterns formed by a system of interacting particles where the mobility of any individual is determined by the population crowding at two different spatial scales. In this way we model the behavior of some biological organisms (like mussels) that tend to cluster at short ranges as a defensive strategy, and strongly disperse if there is a high population pressure at large ranges for optimizing foraging. We perform stochastic simulations of a particle-level model of the system, and derive and analyze a continuous density description (a nonlinear diffusion equation). In both cases we show that this interplay of scale-dependent-behaviors gives rise to a rich formation of spatial patterns ranging from labyrinths to periodic cluster arrangements. In most cases these clusters have the very peculiar appearance of ring-like structures, i.e., organisms arranging in the perimeter of the clusters, which we discuss in detail.
authors.affiliation: IFISC (Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos), CSIC-UIB, Campus UIB, Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, 08544-1003, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martínez-García
authors.affiliation: IFISC (Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos), CSIC-UIB, Campus UIB, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Murgui
authors.affiliation: IFISC (Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos), CSIC-UIB, Campus UIB, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hernández-García
authors.affiliation: IFISC (Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos), CSIC-UIB, Campus UIB, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristóbal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: López
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011157:Population Dynamics