COMPETITION DURING COLONIZATION VS COMPETITION AFTER COLONIZATION IN DISTURBED ENVIRONMENTS - A METAPOPULATION APPROACH

How two species interact during and after colonization influences whic h of them will be present in each stage of succession. In the toleranc e model of ecological succession in a patchy environment, empty patche s can be colonized by any species, but the ability to tolerate reduced resource levels determines which species will exclude the other. Here , we analyze a meta-population model of the possible roles of competit ion in colonization and succession, using non-linear Markov chains as a mathematical framework. Different kinds of competition affect the fi nal equilibrial abundances of the species involved in qualitatively di fferent ways. An explicit criterion is given to determine which intera ctions have stronger effects on the final equilibrial levels of the we aker species. Precise conditions are stated for the co-existence of bo th species. Both species are more likely to co-exist in the presence o f an intermediate disturbance frequency. (C) 1996 Society for Mathemat ical Biology