Cooperation Between Species


Cooperation is the second kind of interaction that can occur between two species. As in the case of competition, the interaction creates an unstable +feedback loop because two positive links (see figure). The extended logistic equation for a species receiving benefits from a cooperator is

Ri = Ai - Cii * Ni + Cij * Nj.

This equation specifies the rate of change of each species as its maximum rate of change (Ai), minus the effect of intraspecific competition (Cii * Ni), plus the effect of interspecific cooperation (Cij * Nj). The zero growth isocline for species i is, therefore,

or

This isocline is a straight line with an intercept at Ki on the Ni-axis and increasing thereafter with Nj (see figure). NOTE the two-species trajectory, the gray line starting at the magenta spot and converging to the equilibrium point.

This model has a stable community equilibrium when the combined effect of intraspecific competition is stronger than the combined effect of interspecific competition

CiiCjj > CijCji

Of course we can include non-linear intraspecific by including the coefficient of curvature Q in the model.


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