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This paper considers the dynamics of a discrete-time Kolmogorov system for two-species populations. In particular, permanence of the system is considered. Permanence is one of the concepts to describe the species' coexistence. By using the method of an average Liapunov function, we have found a simple sufficient condition for permanence of the system. That is, nonexistence of saturated boundary fixed points is enough for permanence of the system under some appropriate convexity or concavity properties for the population growth rate functions. Numerical investigations show that for the system with population growth rate functions without such properties, the nonexistence of saturated boundary fixed points is not sufficient for permanence, actually a boundary periodic orbit or a chaotic orbit can be attractive despite the existence of a stable coexistence fixed point. This result implies, in particular, that existence of a stable coexistence fixed point is not sufficient for permanence.

This paper considers the dynamics of a two-dimensional discrete-time model for host-parasitoid interactions, and shows that the model has two attractors: the fixed point where two species coexist and a boundary cycle where the parasitoid is absent. The analysis with the Liapunov exponent confirms that this kind of bistability is common in this model. The generality of this phenomenon in host-parasitoid interactions is also discussed.

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Republic (in press)]. We extend their result and obtain a sufficient condition for attenuation of cycles in population models. This sufficient condition is applicable to a wide class of periodic difference equations with arbitrary period. For an illustration, the result is applied to the Beverton-Holt equation and other specific population models.