Equilibriumizing all food chain chaos through reproductive efficiency.

The intraspecific interference of a top-predator is incorporated into a classical mathematical model for three-trophic food chains. All chaos types known to the classical model are shown to exist for this comprehensive model. It is further demonstrated that if the top-predator reproduces at high efficiency, then all chaotic dynamics will change to a stable coexisting equilibrium, a novel property not found in the classical model. This finding gives a mechanistic explanation to the question of why food chain chaos is rare in the field. It also suggests that high reproductive efficiency of top-predators tends to stabilize food chains.