Integrating evolution into ecological modelling: accommodating phenotypic changes in agent based models.

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary change is a characteristic of living organisms and forms one of the ways in which species adapt to changed conditions. However, most ecological models do not incorporate this ubiquitous phenomenon. We have developed a model that takes a 'phenotypic gambit' approach and focuses on changes in the frequency of phenotypes (which differ in timing of breeding and fecundity) within a population, using, as an example, seasonal breeding. Fitness per phenotype calculated as the individual's contribution to population growth on an annual basis coincide with the population dynamics per phenotype. Simplified model variants were explored to examine whether the complexity included in the model is justified. Outputs from the spatially implicit model underestimated the number of individuals ac

SUBMITTER: Moustakas A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3733718 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature