Levy Processes, Saltatory Foraging, and Superdiffusion

J. F. Burrow, P. D. Baxter, J. W. Pitchford

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

It is well established that resource variability generated by spatial patchiness and turbulence is an important influence on the growth and recruitment of planktonic fish larvae. Empirical data show fractal-like prey distributions, and simulations indicate that scale-invariant foraging strategies may be optimal. Here we show how larval growth and recruitment in a turbulent environment can be formulated as a hitting time problem for a jump-diffusion process. We present two theoretical results. Firstly, if jumps are of a fixed size and occur as a Poisson process (embedded within a drift-diffusion), recruitment is effectively described by a diffusion process alone. Secondly, in the absence of diffusion, and for "patchy" jumps (of negative binomial size with Pareto inter-arrivals), the encounter process becomes superdiffusive. To synthesise these results we conduct a strategic simulation study where "patchy" jumps are embedded in a drift-diffusion process. We conclude that increasingly Levy-like predator foraging strategies can have a significantly positive effect on recruitment at the population level.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)115-130
Number of pages16
JournalMATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF NATURAL PHENOMENA
Volume3
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2008

Keywords

  • fish larvae
  • power law
  • Pareto distribution
  • hitting time
  • jump-diffusion
  • Levy walk

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