Interspecific competition among metapopulations with space-limited subpopulations (Q1086518)

A model is presented for a metapopulation with species in subpopulations competing for available space. The model represents the dynamics of a metapopulation of s species with the adults being sessile and living in local systems, while the larvae of all the species drift in an mixed, common ''larval pool'' and return to settle on vacant space in each of the local systems. Local stability analysis about the equilibrium is conducted in the case of an already stable community under invasion, as well as in the case in which there are many species. Furthermore, it is shown that for two species and two local systems, the three outcomes of the classical Lotka-Volterra competition model are possible (i.e., coexistence, one species present in the absence of the other, or both species absent) as well as several others (for example, one species requires the presence of the other).