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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.08.20.504626

Noise-induced symmetry breaking in a network of excitable ecological systems

Narang, A.·Banerjee, T.·Dutta, P. S.
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Abstract

Noise-induced symmetry breaking has barely been unveiled on the ecological grounds, though its occurrence may elucidate mechanisms responsible for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Here, for a network of excitable consumer-resource systems, we show that the interplay of network structure and noise intensity manifests a transition from homogeneous steady state to inhomogeneous steady states, resulting in noise-induced symmetry breaking. On further increasing the noise intensity, there exist asynchronous oscillations, leading to heterogeneity crucial for maintaining a systems adaptive capacity. The observed collective dynamics can be understood analytically in the framework of linear stability analysis of the corresponding deterministic system.

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Narang, A., Banerjee, T., Dutta, P. S.. 2022-08-22. Noise-induced symmetry breaking in a network of excitable ecological systems. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.08.20.504626

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