Traveling wave solutions of a reaction diffusion model for competing pioneer and climax species.

Presented is a reaction-diffusion model for the interaction of pioneer and climax species. For certain parameters the system exhibits bistability and traveling wave solutions. Specifically, we show that when the climax species diffuses at a slow rate there are traveling wave solutions which correspond to extinction waves of either the pioneer or climax species. A leading order analysis is used in the one-dimensional spatial case to estimate the wave speed sign that determines which species becomes extinct. Results of these analyses are then compared to numerical simulations of wave front propagation for the model on one and two-dimensional spatial domains. A simple mechanism for harvesting is also introduced.