Chimeric states induced by higher-order interactions in coupled prey-predator systems.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Complex Systems
• Theoretical Biology

Background:

• Higher-order interactions are crucial for understanding complex dynamics in large-scale systems.
• Previous models primarily focused on pairwise interactions, limiting the scope of observed phenomena.
• Prey-predator models like Rosenzweig-MacArthur are foundational in ecological dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of attractive and repulsive higher-order interactions on prey-predator systems.
• To explore the emergence of spatiotemporal chimeric states.
• To analyze the transition dynamics between chimera-like and chimera-death states.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing globally and non-locally coupled Rosenzweig-MacArthur models.
• Analyzing the system's behavior under attractive and repulsive higher-order interactions.
• Investigating transitions via supercritical Hopf bifurcations and non-local topology effects.

Main Results:

• Emergence of complex spatiotemporal chimeric states not seen with pairwise interactions.
• Observation of a second-order transition from chimera-like to chimera-death states.
• Identification of "amplitude-mediated chimera-like states" due to higher-order non-local topology.

Conclusions:

• Higher-order interactions introduce incoherence and promote persistence in consumer-resource dynamics.
• This contrasts with the susceptibility of synchronized dynamics observed with only pairwise interactions.
• Findings are relevant for ecologists and conservationists studying ecological networks and competing interactions.