Paper 4, Section I, A
Part II, 2013
A model of two populations competing for resources takes the form
where all parameters are positive. Give a brief biological interpretation of and . Briefly describe the dynamics of each population in the absence of the other.
Give conditions for there to exist a steady-state solution with both populations present (that is, and ), and give conditions for this solution to be stable.
In the case where there exists a solution with both populations present but the solution is not stable, what is the likely long-term outcome for the biological system? Explain your answer with the aid of a phase diagram in the plane.