Fig. 2.

Self-organized lumpy patterns in the abundance of competing species along a niche axis. (a) A transient state after a simulation run of 1,000 generation times. (b) A stable pattern of species abundance reached after 5,000 generation times in the presence of mild density-dependent losses (g = 0.02, H = 0.1, Eq. 2). (c) The competitive threshold for invasion of a new species expressed as percentage deviation of its carrying capacity (K) relative to that of the resident species is lowest in the species lumps, showing that these represent relative windows of opportunity for invasion, and attractors in the fitness landscape. Note that the relatively low predation loss at low densities allows starting invaders to enter with a competitive power (K) slightly below that of residents.