Model ecosystem with variable interspecies interactions

Model ecosystems with quenched, symmetric interspecies interactions have been extensively studied using the replica method of the statistical mechanics of disordered systems. Here, we consider a more general scenario in which both the species abundances and the interspecies interactions change with time, albeit in widely separated timescales. The equilibrium of the coupled dynamics is studied analytically within the partial annealing framework, in which the number of replicas n takes on positive as well as negative values. In the case n > 0, which describes ecosystems characterized by the cooperative interspecies interactions, we find a discontinuous transition to a regime of zero diversity, whereas in the case where competition prevails, n < 0, we find that the species diversity is maximum.