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The Use of the Puzzle Box as a Means of Assessing the Efficacy of Environmental Enrichment
Published on: December 29, 2014
The paradox of enrichment in an adaptive world
Akihiko Mougi1, Kinya Nishimura
1Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hakodate 041-8611, Japan. mougi@biomath10.biology.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Paradoxically, enrichment can destabilize a predator-prey food web. While adaptive dynamics can greatly influence the stability of interaction systems, few theoretical studies have examined the effect of the adaptive dynamics of interaction-related traits on the possibility of resolution of the paradox of enrichment. We consider the evolution of attack and defence traits of a predator and two prey species in a one predator-two prey system in which the predator practises optimal diet use. The results showed that optimal foraging alone cannot eliminate a pattern of destabilization with enrichment, but trait evolution of the predator or prey can change the pattern to one of stabilization, implying a possible resolution of the paradox of enrichment. Furthermore, trait evolution in all species can broaden the parameter range of stabilization. Importantly, rapid evolution can stabilize this system, but weaken its stability in the face of enrichment.
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