Dispersal-driven coexistence in a multiple-patch competition model for zebra and quagga mussels

Abstract

Zebra and quagga mussel are among the world's notorious invasive species because of their large and widespread ecological and economic effects. Although these two species have similar life histories and share many ecological traits, they have some significant ecological differences and impacts. Understanding their long-term population dynamics is critical to determining impacts and effective management. To investigate how the population reproduction rates, intraspecific and interspecific competitions, as well as dispersal abilities affect the population persistence and spatial distributions of the two species in a spatially heterogeneous environment, we developed a dynamic model that describes the competitive interactions between zebra and quagga mussels in multiple patches. The dynamic analysis of the model yields some sufficient conditions that lead to population persistence, extirpation, as well as competitive exclusion and coexistence. By the numerical solutions of a two-patch model, we examine how the interplay between the local population dynamics in each patch and the individual dispersal between patches affects the competition outcomes of the two species in a spatially variable system.

Keywords:

• Zebra mussel
• quagga mussel
• multiple-patch competition model
• coexistence

2020 Mathematics Subject Classifications:

• 92D25
• 92D40
• 92-10

Acknowledgements

We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Qihua Huang was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 11871060], the Venture and Innovation Support Program for Chongqing Overseas Returnees [grant number 7820100158], the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [grant number XDJK2018B031], and the faculty startup fund from Southwest University [grant number 20710948]. Paul Salceanu was supported by a Simons Foundation Collaboration Grant for Mathematicians, award ID: 524761. Hao Wang was partially supported by an NSERC [grant number RGPIN-2020-03911] and an NSERC [grant number RGPAS-2020-00090].