Mass Extinction in a Simple Mathematical Biological Model

Abstract

Introducing the effect of extinction into the so-called replicator equations in mathematical biology, we construct a general model of ecosystems. The present model shows mass extinction by its own extinction dynamics when the system initially has a large number of species ( diversity). The extinction dynamics shows several significant features such as a power law in basin size distribution, induction time, etc. The present theory can be a mathematical foundation of the species-area effect in the paleontologic theory for mass extinction.