Global and blow-up solutions for a mutualistic model

We study the global and blow-up solutions for a strong degenerate reaction–diffusion system modeling the interactions of two biological species. The local existence and uniqueness of a classical solution are established. We further give the critical exponent for reaction and absorption terms for the existence of global and blow-up solutions. We show that the solution may blow up if the intraspecific competition is weak. This supports ecologist A.J. Nicholson’s conclusion that intraspecific competition is the main factor regulating population size.