An exergy-based analysis of the co-evolution of different species sharing common resources

We consider a set of species feeding on the same exergy resources. The balance equations for the allocation of such resources among the species result in a set of non linear differential equations describing the dynamics of each population. We address the important question of optimal exploitation of the incoming exergy resource at the species- and ecological niche level: more specifically, after a formal definition of the exergy effectiveness of the conversion for the overall system and for each species, we search for the – unique or multiple – set of values of the model parameters that may lead to a sustainable situation in which all of the species survive and – together – optimally exploit the incoming exergy flux. The analytical results will be discussed both qualitatively and, for a 2-species case, quantitatively.