Regensburg 2010 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 14: Evolutionary Game Theory III (joint SOE, BP)

BP 14.6: Talk

Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 15:30–15:45, H44

Evolutionarily stable demographics — •Oskar Hallatschek — Biological Physics and Evolutionary Dynamics, MPI DS, Goettingen

It has long been noticed that demographic stochasticity can seriously interfere with Darwin's evolutionary principles of heritable variation and selection. Avantageous genes are sometimes lost accidentally. These chance effects are considered as major retardation of Darwinian evolution. Here, we show that, in spatial systems, they can sometimes accelerate adaptive evolution. We describe a whole class of demographic parameters for which demographic stochasticity actually drives adaptive evolution. Among these traits are dispersal rates and carrying capacities, for which evolutionary optimal values (ESS's) can be given. These new class of noise driven adaptations suggests that demographic stochasticity must be considered also as an important creative Darwinian force, not only as a disrupting one.