Coherent structures and bifurcation analysis in a toxin-driven plant-herbivore model

Abstract

This work investigates how toxin-mediated interactions and directed movements shape the emergence of coherent structures in plant-herbivore systems. The analysis focuses on a two-compartment model enclosing a toxin-dependent functional response and a cross-diffusion term that represents ecologically plausible herbivores' movement towards, or away from, vegetation. Two distinct dynamical regimes arise depending on toxicity strength. Under weak toxicity, the system admits at most one biologically feasible coexistence equilibrium, which may lose stability through a Hopf bifurcation generating small-amplitude temporal oscillations. Under strong toxicity, the nonlinear functional response becomes non-monotonic, allowing for multiple coexistence equilibria and abrupt regime shifts. The influence of cross-diffusion on stability is also examined, identifying the conditions under which Turing instabilities and mixed spatiotemporal patterns occur. Near the corresponding bifurcation thresholds, Stuart-Landau amplitude equations are derived via weakly nonlinear analysis, providing a unified framework for the modulation of oscillatory, stationary, and combined Turing-Hopf modes. Numerical simulations corroborate the theoretical predictions, illustrating transitions from spatially uniform states to oscillations, spatial patterns, and mixed behaviour. Overall, this manuscript highlights how chemical defences, nonlinear feedbacks, and movement strategies jointly determine the emergence, selection, and robustness of coherent structures in plant-herbivore systems.