Inferring the Effect of Species Interactions on Trait Evolution.

ABSTRACT: Models of trait evolution form an important part of macroevolutionary biology. The Brownian motion model and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck models have become classic (null) models of character evolution, in which species evolve independently. Recently, models incorporating species interactions have been developed, particularly involving competition where abiotic factors pull species toward an optimal trait value and competitive interactions drive the trait values apart. However, these models assume a fitness function rather than derive it from population dynamics and they do not consider dynamics of the trait variance. Here, we develop a general coherent trait evolution framework where the fitness function is based on a model of population dynamics, and therefore it can, in principle, accommodate any

SUBMITTER: Xu L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8048392 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature