Contact processes on fragmented domains

Abstract

Motivated by recent findings of enhanced species survival when fragmented habitats are reconnected through narrow strips of land [S. Pimm, and C. N. Jenkins, Am. Sci. {\bf 107}(3), 162 (2019).], we study the effect of a corridor connecting two square regions on the survival time of three models exhibiting extinction/survival phase transitions: the basic contact process (CP), the diffusive contact process, and the two-species symbiotic contact process (2SCP). We find that connecting the regions generally increases the survival time for $\lambda\ge \lambda_c$, where $\lambda$ is the reproduction rate and $\lambda_c$ its critical value. The enhancement of the survival time increases with $\lambda$, and is largest in the 2SCP.