Dynamical mechanism for coexistence of dispersing species without trade-offs in spatially extended ecological systems - art. no. 051905

Most prior studies on the role of dispersal in the coexistence of competing species have emphasized the need for trade-offs between competitive and co lonizing abilities for coexistence. Theoretical studies of the evolution of dispersal recently have revealed an alternative mechanism for the coexiste nce of species differing solely in dispersal rates in spatially extended sy stems. We present an analysis and numerical evidence indicating that chaoti c synchronism, occurring in an extremely intermittent form, is an important feature of the spatiotemporal variation in fitness required fur the coexis tence of species without trade-offs.