Spatial Patterning in Modified Turing Systems: Application to Pigmentation Patterns on Marine Fish

J. L. Aragón¹, C. Varea¹, R. A. Barrio¹ and P. K. Maini²

¹Instituto de Física, UNAM, Apartado Postal 20-364, 01000 México, D.F., Mexico
²Centre for Mathematical Biology, Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, 24-29 St. Giles, Oxford, OX1 3LB, U.K.

(Received August 28, 1998; Accepted October 29, 1998)

Keywords: Domain Growth, Coupled Models, Parameter Modulation

Abstract. In this paper we extend the study of Turing models to investigate the rôle of boundary conditions, parameter modulation, domain growth, and coupling of models. Our numerical simulations show that such modifications lead to patterns that cannot be reproduced by the standard model. By comparing our results with pigmentation patterning on marine fish we conclude that such models may have wider application than originally imagined.