  Disease outbreaks affect many ecosystems threatening species that also fight
against other natural enemies. We investigate a cyclic game system with $5$
species, whose organisms outcompete according to the rules of a generalised
spatial rock-paper-scissors game, during an epidemic. We study the effects of
behavioural movement strategies that allow individuals of one out of the
species to move towards areas with a low density of disease vectors and a high
concentration of enemies of their enemies. We perform a series of stochastic
simulations to discover the impact of self-preservation strategies in pattern
formation, calculating the species' spatial autocorrelation functions.
Considering organisms with different physical and cognitive abilities, we
compute the benefits of each movement tactic to reduce selection and infection
risks. Our findings show that the maximum profit in terms of territorial
dominance in the cyclic game is achieved if both survival movement strategies
are combined, with individuals prioritising social distancing. In the case of
an epidemic causing symptomatic illness, the drop in infection risk when
organisms identify and avoid disease vectors does not render a rise in the
species population because many refuges are disregarded, limiting the benefits
of safeguarding against natural enemies. Our results may be helpful to the
understanding of the behavioural strategies in ecosystems where organisms adapt
to face living conditions changes.
