Dynamical analysis of a predator-prey model arising from palm tree plantation

Abstract

Palm oil industry has become an issue that has caught the attention of the world community in recent years. From an economic point of view, this industry is very influential in developing and spurring economic growth in rural areas. In this paper, a predator-prey dynamical model representing the interaction between palm leaf, caterpillar and predator is discussed here. The caterpillar life-cycle starts from eggs, larvae, pupas and the adult moths, and only the larvae interact with the predator. With a given threshold level of the leaves for survival and productivity, the critical level of predators is shown. Further, the dynamical analysis is discussed analytically and numerically. Bifurcation diagrams and sensitivity analysis of each compartment were also obtained to see the effect of changing parameters on the dynamics. The results explain that the increase of larvae predators can reduce the number of larvae pests that eat palm oil leaves, but they need to be controlled to maintain the balance of the ecosystem.