Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 097901 (2002) [4 pages]Optimizing the Encounter Rate in Biological Interactions: Lévy versus Brownian StrategiesSee Also: Erratum Received 22 May 2001; published 12 February 2002 An important application involving two-species reaction-diffusion systems relates to the problem of finding the best statistical strategy for optimizing the encounter rate between organisms. We investigate the general problem of how the encounter rate depends on whether organisms move in Lévy or Brownian random walks. By simulating a limiting generalized searcher-target model (e.g., predator-prey, mating partner, pollinator-flower), we find that Lévy walks confer a significant advantage for increasing encounter rates when the searcher is larger or moves rapidly relative to the target, and when the target density is low. © 2002 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.097901
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.097901
PACS:
87.23.-n, 05.40.Fb
See AlsoErratum: F. Bartumeus, J. Catalan, U. L. Fulco, M. L. Lyra, and G. M. Viswanathan, Erratum: Optimizing the Encounter Rate in Biological Interactions: Lévy versus Brownian Strategies [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 097901 (2002)], Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 109902 (2002). |
|
About | Terms and Conditions | Subscriptions | Search | Help
Use of the American Physical Society websites and journals implies that the user has read and agrees to our Terms and Conditions and any applicable Subscription Agreement. Physical Review®, Physical Review Letters®, Reviews of Modern Physics®, and Physical Review Special Topics® are trademarks of the American Physical Society.