Bioinformatics and Computational Biophysics, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Center for Computational Sciences and Simulation, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Center for Medical Biotechnology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Center for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
We introduce an Interaction- and Trade-off-based Eco-Evolutionary Model (ITEEM), in which species are competing in a well-mixed system, and their evolution in interaction trait space is subject to a life-history trade-off between replication rate and competitive ability. We demonstrate that the shape of the trade-off has a fundamental impact on eco-evolutionary dynamics, as it imposes four phases of diversity, including a sharp phase transition. Despite its minimalism, ITEEM produces a remarkable range of patterns of eco-evolutionary dynamics that are observed in experimental and natural systems. Most notably we find self-organization towards structured communities with high and sustained diversity, in which competing species form interaction cycles similar to rock-paper-scissors games.
