Abstract
The paradox of biological diversity is the key problem of theoretical ecology. The paradox consists in the contradiction between the competitive exclusion principle and the observed biodiversity. This principle was formulated incorrectly because of limitations of the traditional black-box models of interspecific competition. Our white-box models are based on logical deterministic individual-based cellular automata. Here, we show a mechanism of competitive coexistence which violates the known formulations of the principle. We reformulate and generalize the competitive exclusion principle and explain why our formulations provide a solution of the biodiversity paradox. In addition, we propose a principle of competitive coexistence.
PACS numbers 87.23.Cc, 87.23.-n, 89.75.Fb