Simulated trajectories of galaxies in the ΔsSFR – Δf_HI space represented by red, green, and blue curves with filled circles marking the gas-poor, normal, and gas-rich starting points, respectively, while empty circles are the end states. Hexagonal bins show the reference sample with the black line as its best-fit correlation. The top left panel a) shows our H I-selected sample as seen in Fig. 9. Each subsequent panel demonstrates a different scenario of galaxy evolution as described in Sect. 5.1. Specifically, b) represents a field galaxy with atomic gas accretion, c) has no H I replenishment or removal, d) shows H I stripping on timescales comparable with the H I-to-H₂ conversion timescale, e) shortens this timescale by a factor of 10, while f) adds a 300 Myr starburst episode to the models of e) with a factor 8 enhancement to the H I-to-H₂ conversion efficiency. In panels e) and f) diamonds indicate the model states after 300 Myr, and in panel f) dashed lines highlight the starburst phases.