Stability Analysis of a Patchy Predator–Prey Model with Fear Effect

Abstract

In this paper, a predator–prey model with fear effect and dispersal is proposed. Assume that only the prey migrates at a constant rate between patches and the migration of prey on each patch is faster than the time scale of local predator–prey interaction. Using two time scales, an aggregation system of total prey density for two patches is constructed. Mathematical analysis shows that there may exist a trivial, a boundary and a unique positive equilibrium point. Under certain conditions, the corresponding unique equilibrium point is global asymptotically stable. The impact of the fear effect on the system is also investigated, i.e., the predator density decreases when the amount of fear effect increases. Moreover, dispersal has a great impact on the persistence of the predator and the prey. Numerical experiments are also presented to verify the feasibility of our conclusion.