Title: Threshold-activated transport stabilizes chaotic populations to steady states,
Abstract: We explore Random Scale-Free networks of populations, modelled by chaotic
Ricker maps, connected by transport that is triggered when population density
in a patch is in excess of a critical threshold level. Our central result is
that threshold-activated dispersal leads to stable fixed populations, for a
wide range of threshold levels. Further, suppression of chaos is facilitated
when the threshold-activated migration is more rapid than the intrinsic
population dynamics of a patch. Additionally, networks with large number of
nodes open to the environment, readily yield stable steady states. Lastly we
demonstrate that in networks with very few open nodes, the degree and
betweeness centrality of the node open to the environment has a pronounced
influence on control. All qualitative trends are corroborated by quantitative
measures, reflecting the efficiency of control, and the width of the steady
state window.