The emergence of defective predators who never hunt by themselves

• Published in: The European physical journal. B, Condensed matter physics Vol. 86; no. 6
• Main Authors: Wang, Xueting, Pan, Qiuhui, Kang, Yibin, He, Mingfeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.06.2013; EDP Sciences; Springer
• Subjects: Analysis; Complex Systems; Computational methods in statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics; Condensed Matter Physics; Exact sciences and technology; Fluid- and Aerodynamics; Hunger; Monte Carlo method; Monte carlo methods; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Regular Article; Solid State Physics; Statistical physics, thermodynamics, and nonlinear dynamical systems; Computational Methods; Monte Carlo methods; Self organization; Hunting; Spatial distribution; Lattice model; Predator-prey interactions; Density
• ISSN: 1434-6028; 1434-6036
• DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2013-40210-5

We propose a lattice Monte Carlo model of two populations, predators and prey. We divide predators into cooperative predators and defective predators. Cooperative predators participate in hunting. On the other hand, defective predators only participate to dominate, i.e. take possession of, the food when a kill has already been made by a cooperative predator. Numerous factors have been taken into account in our research, such as individual mobility, predation and hunger time. The model we have constructed displays the features of the population that evolve through time and the spatial distribution of the population. We focus on the emergence of defective predators and how the parameters affect the system. The results indicate that prey can profit from the appearance of these defective predators in some specific situations. It has even been shown that the emergence of defective predators can sometimes save endangered systems.