On–off intermittency in population outbreaks: Reactive equilibria and propagation on networks

Abstract

Ecological systems are subject to environmental variability and fluctuations: understanding the role of such stochastic perturbations in inducing on–off intermittency is the central motivation for this study. This research extends the exploration of parameters leading to the emergence of on–off intermittency within a discrete Beddington-Free-Lawton host-parasitoid model. We introduce random perturbation factors that impact both the grazing intensity and the growth rate of the host population. An intriguing aspect of this study is the numerical evidence of the reactivity of the free-parasitoid fixed point as a route to on–off intermittency. This finding is significant because it sheds light on how stable ecological equilibria can transition into intermittency before progressing toward chaotic behaviour. Moreover, our study explores the host-parasitoid coupling within the Beddington-Free-Lawton model when it is applied to a complex network, a significant framework for modelling ecological interactions. The paper reveals that such network-based interactions induce parasitoid bursts that are not observed in a single population scenario.