A mathematical model shows a global trend towards mutualism between species

A team led by researchers from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) has developed a new mathematical model to study changes in ecological interactions between microbe populations. One of the conclusions they have found is that there is a trend towards mutualism, that is, towards a relationship in which species benefit each other. There are various types of ecological interactions between species in ecosystems. One of the best known is predation (one species feeds from another, to put it simply), but there are other varieties, such as competition for resources, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, etc. However, it is known that these are not permanent states, because there may be transitions between these interactions as a result of evolution. For example, a predation relationship between species may eventually become a mutualistic or symbiotic relationship between them during the course of evolution. This new mathematical model makes it possible to study the type of transitions in ecological interactions.