Analysis of the Lamprey Ecosystem Based on the Lotka-Volterra Model

Abstract

The lamprey (Vertebrinidae) is the sole survivor of the oldest vertebrate known. Many studies have shown that sex differentiation in sea lamprey is influenced by external environmental factors, making it dependent on and also influencing the surrounding ecosystem. This article focuses on studying the impact of this sexual variation on the species itself and the surrounding ecosystem. Using differential equations, based on reality, this article constructed a cellular automaton model and a variant Lotka-Volterra model incorporating three species. This article comprehensively applied software programming tools such as MATLAB to solve these models. By building the model, obtained the general operation of lamprey ecosystem and the reproduction and evolution of lamprey population. This article primary aim is to investigate the sex ratio of species and its dependence on and impact on local environmental conditions. This article aim to understand how organisms within this ecosystem interact and adapt to environmental changes. Furthermore, this article seek to understand how sex ratio is influenced during upstream spawning migrations, and whether this dynamic change in sex ratio has ecological adaptive significance.