STABILITY AND COMPLEXITY OF SPATIALLY EXTENDED 2-SPECIES COMPETITION

Lotka & Volterra's studies showed the dynamics of two species in competition. Although it is very simple, the model has not been improved until recently. As Margalef (1980) pointed out, space must be taken into account in all fundamental aspects of ecological organization. On the other hand, in the last few years unexpected results on non-linear dynamical systems have changed our view of complexity. In this paper we explore the spatiotemporal behaviour of a two-species competition coupled map lattice. The coexistence of the two competitors is demonstrated although they have high interspecific competition coefficients. This coexistence is closely related with spatial segregation and the formation of a well-defined Turing-like structure. Moreover, the patches observed can have a large influence on the temporal dynamics. Some implications for population extinction and for the competitive exclusion principle are also discussed. © 1992 Academic Press Limited.