Perez de Vladar, Harold

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   University of GroningenStochasticity and variability in the dynamics and genetics of populationsPerez de Vladar, HaroldIMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite fromit. Please check the document version below.Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordPublication date:2009Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research databaseCitation for published version (APA):Perez de Vladar, H. (2009). Stochasticity and variability in the dynamics and genetics of populations. s.n.CopyrightOther than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of theauthor(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license.More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne-amendment.Take-down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons thenumber of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.Download date: 20-06-2022Summary (EN)Population dynamics is a temporal description of the numberof individuals in a population. Many models exist that quantifythe process of population growth. In this thesis, the subject isapproached with the goal of bringing together several of thesemodels into a simple general one. Although carrying capacity isoften invoked as a mechanism for density dependence (the reg-ulation of growth rates according to the population’s size), thegeneral version does not resort to this mechanism. For certainconditions, however, carrying capacities emerge. Other condi-tions lead to populations that explode in size. However, certainkind of random perturbations can drive the dynamics of thepopulation in a way that they mimic density dependence. Thisprovides alternative testable explanations for the demographicdiversity in natural populations.The evolution of quantitative traits depends on the frequen-cies of many alleles involved, which can rarely be measured.An approximation is developed borrowing methods from statis-tical mechanics to predict the dynamics of observable quanti-ties, such as the mean and variance of a trait. Populations areshown to evolve to an entropy maximum, subject to constraintson the expected values of observable quantities. The methodgives the equilibrium state exactly and is accurate even whenthere are abrupt changes in directional or stabilizing selection.xviiApplications to selection for multiple characters are also stud-ied, and data of evolving traits of the common frog Rana tem-poraria is analyzed in order to gain insights on the limitationsof the method. We also initiate a discussion on the interpreta-tion of entropy in evolution as information created by naturalselection.

Stochasticity and variability in the dynamics and genetics of populations

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Stochasticity and variability in the dynamics and genetics of populations

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