Anomalously slow attrition times for asymmetric populations with internal group dynamics
Abstract
The many-body dynamics exhibited by living objects include group formation within a population, and the non-equilibrium process of attrition between two opposing populations due to competition or conflict. We show analytically and numerically that the combination of these two dynamical processes generates an attrition duration T whose nonlinear dependence on population asymmetry x is in stark contrast to standard mass-action theories. A minority population experiences a longer survival time than two equally balanced populations, irrespective of whether the majority population adopts such internal grouping or not. Adding a third population with pre-defined group sizes allows T(x) to be tailored. Our findings compare favorably to real-world observations.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0910.1622,
title = {Anomalously slow attrition times for asymmetric populations with internal group dynamics},
author = {Zhenyuan Zhao and Juan Camilo Bohorquez and Alex Dixon and Neil F. Johnson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0910.1622},
year = {2015}
}