A dynamic interplay between Allee effect and time delay in a mathematical model with weakening memory

Abstract

This paper deals with a model of population dynamics comprising Allee effect and weakening memory with constant time delays. Since predator density depends on the prey density in current time and in past, a two-component model of prey-predator interactions is complemented with a third differential equation for the influence of recent past. The role of constant time delays incorporated in the functional form of Allee effect (referred as delays in competition and cooperation) is investigated analytically and numerically. Steady states of the model are obtained and the local stability analysis around the coexisting state is calculated in the presence of both delays. The critical threshold for time delays, above which the stability of the system switches from stable (unstable) to unstable (stable), is computed for various cases. Analytical findings of this paper are supported with numerical simulations, where time evolution as well as numerical bifurcation diagrams are presented. The results of this paper demonstrate that the influence of past on the prey-predator density in the present of time delay may have a considerable effect upon the system behaviour and can give important insights into underlying biological mechanism.