Bifurcation analysis and exploration of noise-induced transitions of a food chain model with Allee effect

Seeking shelter from threats is a widespread instinct across species, specially employed by prey to avoid direct confrontations with predators. The present investigation centers on a three-species food chain model wherein the basal prey, characterized by logistic growth, seeks refuge to evade the intermediate predator, while the intermediate predator, in turn, seeks refuge to avoid encounters with the top predator. Additionally, our model assumes that the presence of the top predator induces a mate-finding Allee effect among the intermediate predator. We investigate how varying levels of refuge, along with other critical parameters such as the reproduction rate of the basal prey and the natural mortality rate of the top predator, influence system’s dynamics within the biparametric planes. Our model displays multistability and undergoes transcritical, saddle–node, Bogdanov–Takens and cusp bifurcations across different parameters. Moreover, the external environmental noise can induce interesting dynamics in the predator–prey system, resulting in noise-induced frequent transitions between distinct interior attractors or from interior to axial attractors. This phenomenon is particularly notable in scenarios where the deterministic model exhibits tristability. In summary, our findings offer potential new avenues for developing control strategies within the realm of community ecology in constant as well as fluctuating environments.