Modeling Cooperation and Competition in Biological Communities

Abstract

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.