Modeling Cooperation and Competition in Biological Communities
Received 21 April 2023; accepted 26 July 2023; published 01 September 2023
2023, Vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 333-358
Author(s): Meloni F., Nakamura G., Grammaticos B., Martinez A. S., Badoual M.
The far-reaching consequences of ecological interactions in the dynamics of biological communities
remain an intriguing subject. For decades, competition has been a cornerstone in
ecological processes, but mounting evidence shows that cooperation does also contribute to the
structure of biological communities. Here, we propose a simple deterministic model for the study
of the effects of facilitation and competition in the dynamics of such systems. The simultaneous
inclusion of both effects produces rich dynamics and captures the context dependence observed
in the formation of ecological communities. Our findings reproduce relevant aspects in plant succession
and highlight the role of facilitation mechanisms in species coexistence and conservation
efforts.
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