Turing pattern formation in a predator–prey system with cross diffusion

Abstract

The paper explores the impacts of cross-diffusion on the formation of spatial patterns in a ratio-dependent predator–prey system with zero-flux boundary conditions. Our results show that under certain conditions, cross-diffusion can trigger the emergence of spatial patterns which is however impossible under the same conditions when cross-diffusion is absent. We give a rigorous proof that the model has at least one spatially heterogenous steady state by means of the Leray–Schauder degree theory. In addition, numerical simulations are performed to visualize the complex spatial patterns.