Figure 1

Illustrative examples of host population time series showing Red Queen dynamics (see the supporting text in the Supplementary Information for the parameter values and Supplementary Fig. 1 for the associated parasite population time series).

Note that the population densities of non-dominant type are not equal to zero. (a) With 5 hosts and 5 parasites. (b) With 10 hosts and 10 parasites. (c) With 15 hosts and 15 parasites. Notice that the order of dominance is not constant. For example, in one period H₁₃ replaces H₁₂ but in another period H₁ replaces H₁₂. Moreover, the length of dominance of one population in a certain period can be longer than the previous period (e.g., see the graph of H₁₂). (d) With 20 hosts and 20 parasites.