The evolution of resource partitioning in a multidimensional resource space

The evolution of resource partitioning in a multidimensional resource space is studied for two and three competing species. Optimal patterns of resource partitioning are determined by simultaneously maximizing the fitness of each species with respect to its own niche position, conditional on the positions of all other species. We find that there are only a finite number of possible solutions, and several of these may be optimal simultaneously. Some solutions of the three-species model involve partitioning along more resource axes than any solutions of the two-species model. The results are related to empirical resource partitioning phenomena in Anolis lizard populations.