The effect of refuge and immigration in a predator-prey system in the presence of a competitor for the prey

This paper considers the effect of immigration and refuge on the dynamics of a three species system in which one predator feeds on one of two competing species. Immigration is assumed only for the species which is not attacked by the predator. The main results address the stability of the system. Namely, it is shown that increasing the number of refuges stabilizes the system, whereas the opposite holds true by increasing the immigration rate. Also, one result about the persistence of the system and one concerning the global stability of the coexistence equilibrium are presented. Some numerical simulations illustrate the obtained results. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.