Effects of Demographic Noise on the Synchronization of a Metapopulation in a Fluctuating Environment

Lai, Yi Ming; Newby, Jay; Bressloff, Paul C.

Effects of Demographic Noise on the Synchronization of a Metapopulation in a Fluctuating Environment

Type

Article

Authors

Lai, Yi Ming
Newby, Jay
Bressloff, Paul C.

KAUST Grant Number

KUK-C1-013-04

Date

2011-09-08

Abstract

We use the theory of noise-induced phase synchronization to analyze the effects of demographic noise on the synchronization of a metapopulation of predator-prey systems within a fluctuating environment (Moran effect). Treating each local predator-prey population as a stochastic urn model, we derive a Langevin equation for the stochastic dynamics of the metapopulation. Assuming each local population acts as a limit cycle oscillator in the deterministic limit, we use phase reduction and averaging methods to derive the steady-state probability density for pairwise phase differences between oscillators, which is then used to determine the degree of synchronization of the metapopulation. © 2011 American Physical Society.

Citation

Lai YM, Newby J, Bressloff PC (2011) Effects of Demographic Noise on the Synchronization of a Metapopulation in a Fluctuating Environment. Physical Review Letters 107. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.107.118102.

Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Grant No. KUK-C1-013-04.