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Evolution of predator dispersal in relation to spatio-temporal prey dynamics : how not to get stuck in the wrong place!
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Evolution in predator-prey systems
We study the adaptive dynamics of predator-prey systems modeled by a
dynamical system in which the traits of predators and prey are allowed to
evolve by small mutations. When only the prey are allowed to evolve, and the
size of the mutational change tends to 0, the system does not exhibit long term
prey coexistence and the trait of the resident prey type converges to the
solution of an ODE. When only the predators are allowed to evolve, coexistence
of predators occurs. In this case, depending on the parameters being varied, we
see (i) the number of coexisting predators remains tight and the differences in
traits from a reference species converge in distribution to a limit, or (ii)
the number of coexisting predators tends to infinity, and we calculate the
asymptotic rate at which the traits of the least and most "fit" predators in
the population increase. This last result is obtained by comparison with a
branching random walk killed to the left of a linear boundary and a finite
branching-selection particle system.Comment: Major revisions to the introduction and definitions of the
evolutionary processes considered, minor revisions to the proofs of
Propositions 1.1 and 1.
Red Queen Coevolution on Fitness Landscapes
Species do not merely evolve, they also coevolve with other organisms.
Coevolution is a major force driving interacting species to continuously evolve
ex- ploring their fitness landscapes. Coevolution involves the coupling of
species fit- ness landscapes, linking species genetic changes with their
inter-specific ecological interactions. Here we first introduce the Red Queen
hypothesis of evolution com- menting on some theoretical aspects and empirical
evidences. As an introduction to the fitness landscape concept, we review key
issues on evolution on simple and rugged fitness landscapes. Then we present
key modeling examples of coevolution on different fitness landscapes at
different scales, from RNA viruses to complex ecosystems and macroevolution.Comment: 40 pages, 12 figures. To appear in "Recent Advances in the Theory and
Application of Fitness Landscapes" (H. Richter and A. Engelbrecht, eds.).
Springer Series in Emergence, Complexity, and Computation, 201
Community-driven dispersal in an individual-based predator-prey model
We present a spatial, individual-based predator-prey model in which dispersal
is dependent on the local community. We determine species suitability to the
biotic conditions of their local environment through a time and space varying
fitness measure. Dispersal of individuals to nearby communities occurs whenever
their fitness falls below a predefined tolerance threshold. The spatiotemporal
dynamics of the model is described in terms of this threshold. We compare this
dynamics with the one obtained through density-independent dispersal and find
marked differences. In the community-driven scenario, the spatial correlations
in the population density do not vary in a linear fashion as we increase the
tolerance threshold. Instead we find the system to cross different dynamical
regimes as the threshold is raised. Spatial patterns evolve from disordered, to
scale-free complex patterns, to finally becoming well-organized domains. This
model therefore predicts that natural populations, the dispersal strategies of
which are likely to be influenced by their local environment, might be subject
to complex spatiotemporal dynamics.Comment: 43 pages, 7 figures, vocabulary modifications, discussion expanded,
references added, Ecological Complexity accepte
Interplay of spatial dynamics and local adaptation shapes species lifetime distributions and species-area relationships
The distributions of species lifetimes and species in space are related,
since species with good local survival chances have more time to colonize new
habitats and species inhabiting large areas have higher chances to survive
local disturbances. Yet, both distributions have been discussed in mostly
separate communities. Here, we study both patterns simultaneously using a
spatially explicit, evolutionary community assembly approach. We present and
investigate a metacommunity model, consisting of a grid of patches, where each
patch contains a local food web. Species survival depends on predation and
competition interactions, which in turn depend on species body masses as the
key traits. The system evolves due to the migration of species to neighboring
patches, the addition of new species as modifications of existing species, and
local extinction events. The structure of each local food web thus emerges in a
self-organized manner as the highly non-trivial outcome of the relative time
scales of these processes. Our model generates a large variety of complex,
multi-trophic networks and therefore serves as a powerful tool to investigate
ecosystems on long temporal and large spatial scales. We find that the observed
lifetime distributions and species-area relations resemble power laws over
appropriately chosen parameter ranges and thus agree qualitatively with
empirical findings. Moreover, we observe strong finite-size effects, and a
dependence of the relationships on the trophic level of the species. By
comparing our results to simple neutral models found in the literature, we
identify the features that are responsible for the values of the exponents.Comment: Theor Ecol (2019
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