Comparison of dynamic behavior between continuous- and discrete-time models of intraguild predation

Intraguild predation is a common ecological phenomenon that manifests itself by the aggression of one predator by another to obtain a shared prey species. In this paper, we develop a discrete analog of a stoichiometric continuous-time intraguild predation model. We analyze the dynamics of the discrete-time model, such as boundedness and invariance, stability of equilibria, and features of ecological matrices. The dynamic behavior of the two models is compared and analyzed through numerical analysis. We observe the same coexistence region of populations and stoichiometric effects of food quality of the shared prey in both models. Obvious differences between the discrete- and continuous-time models can be observed with intermediate and high levels of light intensity. The multistability characteristics and the existence interval of chaos differ among the different time scale models. This study provides evidence of the importance of time scales on intraguild predation.