摘要：SummaryExplaining biodiversity in nature is a fundamental problem in ecology. An outstanding challenge is embodied in the so-called Competitive Exclusion Principle: two species competing for one limiting resource cannot coexist at constant population densities, or more generally, the number of consumer species in steady coexistence cannot exceed that of resources. The fact that competitive exclusion is rarely observed in natural ecosystems has not been fully understood. Here we show that, by forming chasing pairs and chasing triplets among the consumers and resources in the consumption process, the Competitive Exclusion Principle can be naturally violated. The modeling framework developed here is broadly applicable and can be used to explain the biodiversity of many consumer-resource ecosystems and hence deepens our understanding of biodiversity in nature.Graphical AbstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•Foraging with only chasing pairs cannot break the Competitive Exclusion Principle (CEP)•A population dynamics model involving both chasing pairs and triplets can break CEP•Redundant foraging within the chasing triplets facilitates species coexistence•The theoretical framework is testable in ecosystems involving pack huntingMicrobiology; Evolutionary Ecology;In SilicoBiology
