A model for intraguild predation dynamics between immature stages

Abstract

Dynamical models usually assume that predation occurs between mature stages and/or between mature and immature stages. In this work a stage-structured discrete time model is developed for a system where intraguild predation takes place only in the course of immature stages of predator and its prey. Therefore, the proposed mathematical setup demands functional relations linking predation in immature life stages with survival and fecundity in mature stages. The behavior of the model is examined in order to investigate the interplay among predator attack rate, its satiation of prey consumption and the success of intraguild predator invasion.

Highlights ► The model describes the dynamics of a prey-predator interaction which occurs only during immature stages. ► We investigate the influence that intraguild predator attack rate and satiation exerts on the dynamics. ► Increasing intraguild satiation turns a unstable dynamics into a stable one while the reverse ensues when increasing attack rate. ► The model suggests that the higher the intraguild predation satiation, the higher the attack rate must be in order to promote species coexistence.