The transition from evolutionary stability to branching: A catastrophic evolutionary shift.

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary branching-resident-mutant coexistence under disruptive selection-is one of the main contributions of Adaptive Dynamics (AD), the mathematical framework introduced by S.A.H. Geritz, J.A.J. Metz, and coauthors to model the long-term evolution of coevolving multi-species communities. It has been shown to be the basic mechanism for sympatric and parapatric speciation, despite the essential asexual nature of AD. After 20 years from its introduction, we unfold the transition from evolutionary stability (ESS) to branching, along with gradual change in environmental, control, or exploitation parameters. The transition is a catastrophic evolutionary shift, the branching dynamics driving the system to a nonlocal evolutionary attractor that is viable before the transition, but unreachabl

SUBMITTER: Dercole F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4877704 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature