  We introduce an Interaction and Trade-off based Eco-Evolutionary Model
(ITEEM), in which species are competing for common resources in a well-mixed
system, and their evolution in interaction trait space is subject to a
life-history trade-off between replication rate and competitive ability. We
demonstrate that the strength of the trade-off has a fundamental impact on
eco-evolutionary dynamics, as it imposes four phases of diversity, including a
sharp phase transition. Despite its minimalism, ITEEM produces without further
ad hoc features a remarkable range of observed patterns of eco-evolutionary
dynamics. Most notably we find self-organization towards structured communities
with high and sustainable diversity, in which competing species form
interaction cycles similar to rock-paper-scissors games.
