Control of a Lotka-Volterra System with Weak Competition

Abstract: The Lotka-Volterra model reflects real ecological interactions where species compete for limited resources, potentially leading to coexistence, dominance of one species, or extinction of another. Comprehending the mechanisms governing these systems can yield critical insights for developing strategies in ecological management and biodiversity conservation. In this work, we investigate the controllability of a Lotka-Volterra system modeling weak competition between two species. Through constrained controls acting on the boundary of the domain, we establish conditions under which the system can be steered towards various target states. More precisely, we show that the system is controllable in finite time towards a state of coexistence whenever it exists, and asymptotically controllable towards single-species states or total extinction, depending on domain size, diffusion, and competition rates. Additionally, we determine scenarios where controllability is not possible and, in these cases, we construct barrier solutions that prevent the system from reaching specific targets. Our results offer critical insights into how competition, diffusion, and spatial domain influence species dynamics under constrained controls. Several numerical experiments complement our analysis, confirming the theoretical findings.