Stability and bifurcation analysis of a two-patch model with Allee effect and dispersal

Abstract: In the current manuscript, a first two-patch model with Allee effect and nonlinear dispersal is presented. We study both the ODE case and the PDE case here. In the ODE model, the stability of the equilibrium points and the existence of saddle-node bifurcation are discussed. The phase diagram and bifurcation curve of our model are also given by numerical simulation. Besides, the corresponding linear dispersal case is also presented. We show that when the Allee effect is large, high intensity of linear dispersal is not favorable to the persistence of the species. We further show when the Allee effect is large, nonlinear diffusion is more favorable to the survival of the population than linear diffusion. Moreover, the results of the PDE model extends our findings from discrete patches to continuous patches.