Coexistence of multiple attractors in the coupling of an exploitative and an omnivorous food web

Abstract

This work shows that the coupling of an exploitative with an omnivorous food web can generate unstable dynamics as well as multiple basins of attraction as a result of slight parameter and initial population variation. In terms of pest biological control, the results point to the need of extreme care with regard to stock assessment of the involved populations when designing strategies in biocontrol. If these requirements are not met, pest management may become quite precarious.