Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Rock-Paper-Scissors In The Chemostat, James P. Braselton, Martha L. Abell, Lorraine Braselton

Department of Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Rock-Paper-Scissors is a game played by two players to determine a single winner. Biological relationships of Rock-Paper-Scissors are documented. In this paper, we form a continuous model of Rock-Papers-Scissors in the chemostat that coincides with the biology of such relationships. The basic models that we develop coincide with the observed phenomena. Because the model involves a system of seven nonlinear differential equations, global results are difficult to obtain. We present several numerical studies that are the result of a substantial number of numerical trials to illustrate the various possibilities that might occur in the context of the problem discussed here.