Three-species dynamics eco-cognitive instantaneous response modulation in a predator-prey system
This paper presents a new three-species predator–prey model with an ecocognitive response for instantaneous trophic interactions. Unlike older models which base predator efficiency on factors such as encounter rates or handling time, this framework incorporates cognitive influence. Predator performance here is affected by their perception of immediate prey density—that is, how well predators recognize, pursue, and outsmart their prey. The system includes a prey population growing logistically, a middle predator guided by the cognition-based model, and a top predator preying on the middle one. It maintains biological realism while adding feedback between the number of prey and predator cognition in real-time. The analysis covers positiviy and boundedness, existence and local stability of equilibria, persistence and extinction thresholds, Hopf bifurcation, oscillatory coexistence and sensitivity analysis. Numerical continuation, bifurcation diagrams and phase portraits show complex dynamics like stable coexistence, wide swings, multistability, and transient chaos.
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