Mutation load dynamics during environmentally-driven range shifts.

ABSTRACT: The fitness of spatially expanding species has been shown to decrease over time and space, but specialist species tracking their changing environment and shifting their range accordingly have been little studied. We use individual-based simulations and analytical modeling to compare the impact of range expansions and range shifts on genetic diversity and fitness loss, as well as the ability to recover fitness after either a shift or expansion. We find that the speed of a shift has a strong impact on fitness evolution. Fastest shifts show the strongest fitness loss per generation, but intermediate shift speeds lead to the strongest fitness loss per geographic distance. Range shifting species lose fitness more slowly through time than expanding species, however, their fitness measured at equ

SUBMITTER: Gilbert KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6179293 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature