Abstract

It is shown that for three competitors, the classic Gause–Lotka–Volterra equations possess a special class of periodic limit cycle solutions, and a general class of solutions in which the system exhibits nonperiodic population oscillations of bounded amplitude but ever increasing cycle time. Biologically, the result is interesting as a caricature of the complexities that nonlinearities can introduce even into the simplest equations of population biology ; mathematically, the model illustrates some novel tactical tricks and dynamical peculiarities for 3-dimensional nonlinear systems.

Keywords

Nonlinear systemLimit cycleBounded functionClass (philosophy)MathematicsPopulationLimit (mathematics)Applied mathematicsVolterra equationsCompetition (biology)AmplitudeDynamical systems theoryMathematical and theoretical biologyPopulation modelMathematical analysisStatistical physicsComputer sciencePhysicsEcologyBiology

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Publication Info

Year
1975
Type
article
Volume
29
Issue
2
Pages
243-253
Citations
1097
Access
Closed

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Cite This

Robert M. May, Warren J. Leonard (1975). Nonlinear Aspects of Competition Between Three Species. SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics , 29 (2) , 243-253. https://doi.org/10.1137/0129022

Identifiers

DOI
10.1137/0129022