The discussion of the Lotka-Volterra model provides an oversimplified view of the world of competition — and suggests that more often than not, competition should lead to exclusion. However, we routinely see communities comprised of similar species — today we’ll talk about several mechanisms that can lead to coexistence despite Lotka-Volterra dynamics.
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- Habitat and temporal heterogeneity can prevent superior competitor from ever excluding the inferior
- frequent disturbance can permit a weaker competitor to persist via metapopualtion-like dynamics
- r-selected species can take advantage of ephemeral gaps before exclusion by K-selected species
- Aggregated distributions can intensify intra- compared to inter-specific competition
- Competition can drive selection for changes in characteristics that minimize competition (e.g. character displacement)
The second homework assignment is due on 18 October by 5 PM. The files are here, a word document with the questions, and an excel worksheet use to complete the questions: