How species organize spatially is one of ecology’s most motivating questions. Multiple theories have been advanced and various models developed to account for the environment, interactions among species, and spatial drivers. However, relative importance comparisons of explanatory phenomena generally are neglected in these analyses. We developed a spatially explicit community occupancy model based on Markov random fields that accounts for spatial auto-correlation and interspecific interactions in occupancy while also accounting for interspecific interaction in detection. Simulations demonstrated that the model can distinguish different mechanisms of environmental sorting, such as competition and spatial-autocorrelation. We applied our model to camera trap data from a fisher (Pekania pennanti)–marten (Martes americana) and coyote (Canis latrans)-fox (Vulpes vulpes) system in Apostle Island National Lakeshore (Wisconsin, USA). Model results indicated that the observed partitioning pattern between marten and fisher distributions could be explained best by a flipped mainland–island source–sink pattern rather than by competition. For the coyote–fox system, we determined that, in addition to a mainland–island source–sink pattern, there was a positive association between fox and coyote that deserved further study. Our model could be readily applied to other landscapes (island and non-island systems), enhancing our understanding of species coexistence patterns.

物种如何在空间上组织是生态学最有启发性的问题之一。已经提出了多种理论，并开发了各种模型来解释环境、物种之间的相互作用和空间驱动因素。然而，在这些分析中通常忽略了解释现象的相对重要性比较。我们开发了一个基于马尔可夫随机场的空间显式社区占用模型，该模型考虑了占用中的空间自相关和种间相互作用，同时也考虑了检测中的种间相互作用。模拟表明，该模型可以区分环境分类的不同机制，例如竞争和空间自相关。我们将我们的模型应用于来自渔民 ( Pekania pennanti )–marten (Martes americana）和土狼（Canis latrans）-狐狸（Vulpes vulpes）系统在使徒岛国家湖岸（美国威斯康星州）。模型结果表明，观察到的貂分布和费舍尔分布之间的划分模式可以通过翻转的大陆-岛屿源-汇模式而不是竞争来最好地解释。对于土狼-狐狸系统，我们确定，除了大陆-岛源-汇模式之外，狐狸和土狼之间存在正相关，值得进一步研究。我们的模型可以很容易地应用于其他景观（岛屿和非岛屿系统），增强我们对物种共存模式的理解。