Evol Ecol Res 14: 757-768 (2012) Full PDF if your library subscribes.
Numerical solutions and animations of group selection dynamics
Burton Simon1 and Aaron Nielsen2
1Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of Colorado at Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA and 2Statistics Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
Correspondence: B. Simon, Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of Colorado at Denver, 1250 Fourteenth Street, Denver, CO 80202, USA.
e-mail: burt.simon@ucdenver.eduABSTRACT
Question: What is the best way to illustrate the dynamical process of group selection, and study its long-term characteristics?
Approach: Numerically solve the dynamical equations for general two-level population processes, and then animate the results.
Mathematical methods: Numerical PDE, numerical ODE, stochastic simulation.
Key assumptions: Group selection is properly characterized in terms of the long-term behaviour of two-level population processes.
Main results: The dynamical process of group selection can be seen clearly in three different kinds of animations of the dynamical equations. The three kinds of animations, corresponding to different scalings of the basic model, highlight different aspects of the phenomenon. Group selection appears to be a potent evolutionary force under a variety of conditions.
Keywords: evolutionary birth–death process, group extinction, group fissioning, multi-level selection, population dynamics.
DOWNLOAD A FREE, FULL PDF COPY
IF you are connected using the IP of a subscribing institution (library, laboratory, etc.)
or through its VPN.
© 2012 Burton Simon. All EER articles are copyrighted by their authors. All authors endorse, permit and license Evolutionary Ecology Ltd. to grant its subscribing institutions/libraries the copying privileges specified below without additional consideration or payment to them or to Evolutionary Ecology, Ltd. These endorsements, in writing, are on file in the office of Evolutionary Ecology, Ltd. Consult authors for permission to use any portion of their work in derivative works, compilations or to distribute their work in any commercial manner.
Subscribing institutions/libraries may grant individuals the privilege of making a single copy of an EER article for non-commercial educational or non-commercial research purposes. Subscribing institutions/libraries may also use articles for non-commercial educational purposes by making any number of copies for course packs or course reserve collections. Subscribing institutions/libraries may also loan single copies of articles to non-commercial libraries for educational purposes.
All copies of abstracts and articles must preserve their copyright notice without modification.