The King Laboratory
of Theoretical Ecology & Evolution
at the University of Michigan


Spatial mechanisms for coexistence of species with a shared natural enemy

A. A. King and A. Hastings
Theoretical Population Biology 64:  431–438, 2003.
Curious transient population dynamics....

We examine the conditions under which spatial structure can mediate coexistence of apparent competitors. We use a spatially explicit, host-parasitoid metapopulation model incorporating local dynamics of Nicholson-Bailey type and global dispersal. Depending on the model parameters, the resulting system displays a plethora of asynchronous dynamical behaviors for which permanent or transient coexistence is observed. We identify a number of spatially-mediated tradeoffs which apparent competitors can utilize and demonstrate that the dynamics of spatial coexistence can typically be understood from consideration of two- and three-patch systems. The phase relationships of species abundances are different for our model than for some other mechanisms of spatial coexistence. We discuss the implications of our findings relative to issues of community organization and biological conservation.


The official version of the paper is here.   Please contact Prof. King if you'd like a reprint.

© 2024 Aaron A. King
3038 Biological Sciences Building
1105 North University Avenue
Ann Arbor MI 48109-1085 USA