Publication
Title
A general condition for adaptive genetic polymorphism in temporally and spatially heterogeneous environments
Author
Abstract
Both evolution and ecology have long been concerned with the impact of variable environmental conditions on observed levels of genetic diversity within and between species. We model the evolution of a quantitative trait under selection that fluctuates in space and time, and derive an analytical condition for when these fluctuations promote genetic diversification. As ecological scenario we use a generalized island model with soft selection within patches in which we incorporate generation overlap. We allow for arbitrary fluctuations in the environment including spatio-temporal correlations and any functional form of selection on the trait. Using the concepts of invasion fitness and evolutionary branching, we derive a simple and transparent condition for the adaptive evolution and maintenance of genetic diversity. This condition relates the strength of selection within patches to expectations and variances in the environmental conditions across space and time. Our results unify, clarify, and extend a number of previous results on the evolution and maintenance of genetic variation under fluctuating selection. Individual-based simulations show that our results are independent of the details of the genetic architecture and whether reproduction is clonal or sexual. The onset of increased genetic variance is predicted accurately also in small populations in which alleles can go extinct due to environmental stochasticity. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Theoretical population biology. - New York
Publication
New York : 2015
ISSN
0040-5809
DOI
10.1016/J.TPB.2014.11.002
Volume/pages
99 (2015) , p. 76-97
ISI
000348892700007
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 26.10.2018
Last edited 25.01.2023
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