Stability and bifurcation analysis of a ratio-dependent community dynamics model on Batesian mimicry (Q2311904)

Batesian mimicry occurs when the coloration and pattern between an unpalatable species and a palatable species are similar. It is an important subject in ecology due to reported examples in various taxa. Previous theoretical studies mainly concentrated on the evolution of mimicry and the predator learning process. In these models, the population sizes of both model- and mimic-species are assumed to be constant, which is not reasonable in model-mimicry community dynamics. Though there are some publications on the model-mimic community dynamics, the analysis is not complete since no necessary and sufficient condition on the existence and stability of the model-mimic coexistence equilibria is provided. This paper fills some gap to a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental characteristics of the model-mimic comunity dynamics. The proposed model is a modification of that in [\textit{A. Yamauchi}, RIMS Kokyuroku 870, 141--152 (1994; Zbl 0939.92510)] with \(s=1\) by introducing a logistic growth also for the mimic-species in the absence of predation. Firstly, the existence conditions on nonnegative equilibria are examined. Then the linear stability of the equilibria is analyzed. Finally, saddle-node bifurcation, transcritical and pitchfork bifurcation, and Hopf bifurcation are conducted. Some biological implications of these theoretical results are discussed. For example, these results reveal an irreversibility regarding the model-mimic coexistence that is crucial for the conservation of both species.