Global dynamics of a predator-prey system modeling by metaphysiological approach

•We showed the detailed analysis for a predator-prey system.•Transcritical and Hopf bifurcations are investigated.•We get four types of bubbles.•Our results link with biological systems in the real world.

In this paper, a systematical analysis of a predator-prey system based on metaphysiological approach is proposed, which considers changes in the aggregate biomass density rather than changes in the demographics. Bifurcation behaviors including transcritical and Hopf bifurcation are observed in this type of system, and bubble phenomena can be seized by setting appropriate values for parameters. The obtained results provide some new insights in population dynamics, which play important roles in maintaining population diversity.