Category: Ecology

Summary: Testing whether intermediate phase lags between reserve subnetworks improve prey persistence when predator dispersal exceeds prey dispersal.

Marine reserves are often managed in space and time, but asynchronous interventions can help or hurt depending on how predators and prey move. This experiment asks whether staggered reserve phases create a useful mismatch that reduces predator synchrony without shutting down recolonization.

The model simulates predator-prey reserve subnetworks exposed to periodic shocks, with different dispersal rates for predators and prey. It compares phase lags between reserves to determine when asynchronous closures improve prey persistence.

The key question is whether timing structure matters only in the presence of strong predator movement. If so, the result would identify a genuinely dynamical reserve effect rather than a static benefit of simply protecting more area.

Method: Predator-prey reserve-network simulations with periodic shocks, varying phase lag and predator-prey dispersal contrast.

What is measured: Prey persistence, dependence on phase lag, predator-prey dispersal asymmetry effects, and support for an intermediate optimum.