EXPLOITER-MEDIATED COEXISTENCE AND FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT SELECTION IN ANUMERICAL-MODEL OF BIODIVERSITY

The key feature of the Daisyworld approach is to explicitly model feed backs between the competitive dynamics of a planetary biota (daisies w ith different albedos) and the planet's climate, namely its surface te mperature. Self-regulation of surface temperature and stable populatio n dynamics are striking emergent properties of this system, despite in creasing energy output from the model's sun. In this paper we attempt to perturb Daisyworld by introducing herbivores endowed with one of fo ur strategies for feeding on daisies in a system rich in daisy diversi ty, and find that the herbivores only moderately diminish the temperat ure regulating abilities of the system. Furthermore, we find that the precise trajectory of the system's temperature regulation depends crit ically on which daisy species the herbivore allows to co-exist, thereb y revealing that climate and patterns of biodiversity are highly inter related in this model, and, possibly, in the real world. (C) 1996 Acad emic Press Limited