From clustering to global synchrony: Higher-order interactions reshape ecological network dynamics

The complexity of many natural systems stems from the abundance of interactions that go beyond simple pairwise networks. While higher-order interactions (HOIs) are fundamental to the dynamics of complex networks, their role in shaping ecological communities through species dispersal remains poorly understood. Here, using chaotic tritrophic dynamics, we explore how synchronization emerges in networks characterized by both dyadic and three-body interactions. In random networks, HOIs reduce extreme asynchrony by promoting partial clustering, but never produce complete synchrony. By contrast, in globally connected networks, stronger HOIs drive the system from asynchronous states to full synchrony, with important consequences for community persistence. Employing the master stability function, we further demonstrate that global synchrony remains stable once a critical coupling threshold is crossed. Our findings reveal that HOI-mediated dispersal introduces topology dependence governed by the local triadic structure of the landscape network, which critically shapes the system's collective emergent dynamics.