One Hundred Years of Lotka–Volterra Models

Over the past century, the generalized Lotka–Volterra (GLV) model has grown from a mathematical curiosity to a cornerstone of theoretical ecology. Here we celebrate the enduring legacy of Lotka and Volterra by tracing how their model has progressively shaped our understanding of ecological dynamics, even as fundamental questions remain open. Along this trajectory, the GLV model has emerged as a common framework linking ecology, evolutionary biology, and infectious disease dynamics and as a bridge between theory and experiment. Its distinctive balance of tractability and realism has made it a natural arena for studying complex phenomena such as ecological assembly and the behavior of large communities. The same features have attracted researchers from mathematics and physics, sparking advances such as the analysis of GLV models with random parameters. By weaving together these developments and highlighting future directions, we aim to guide the GLV model into its next century.