Two-time scales in spatially structured models of population dynamics: A semigroup approach

The aim of this work is to provide a unified approach to the treatment of a class of spatially structured population dynamics models whose evolution processes occur at two different time scales. In the setting of the C 0 -semigroup theory, we will consider a general formulation of some semilinear evolution problems defined on a Banach space in which the two-time scales are represented by a parameter ε > 0 small enough, that mathematically gives rise to a singular perturbation problem. Applying the so-called aggregation of variables method, a simplified model called the aggregated model is constructed. A nontrivial mathematical task consists of comparing the asymptotic behaviour of solutions to both problems when ε → 0 + , under the assumption that the aggregated model has a compact attractor. Applications of the method to a class of two-time reaction–diffusion models of spatially structured population dynamics and to models with discrete spatial structure are given.