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Advantage of storage in a fluctuating environment
1Department of Theoretical Biology, Vrije Universiteit, de Boelelaan 1087, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. kooi@bio.vu.nl
Theoretical Population Biology
|September 19, 2006
Summary
In fluctuating environments, evolutionary strategies diverge, allowing species with and without energy storage to coexist. However, only one species ultimately survives in the long term.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Ecology
- Theoretical Ecology
- Non-equilibrium Systems
Background:
- In constant environments, species lacking energy storage outcompete those with storage, hindering evolutionary diversification.
- Fluctuating nutrient supply in chemostats presents unique evolutionary challenges and opportunities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary trajectories of populations in chemostats with fluctuating nutrient supply.
- To identify stable evolutionary singular strategies in non-equilibrium ecological systems.
- To understand the role of energy storage in evolutionary dynamics under fluctuating conditions.
Main Methods:
- Adaptive dynamics approach for non-equilibrium ecological systems.
- Formulation of invasion fitness using Floquet multipliers for oscillating systems.
- Numerical bifurcation analysis to study evolutionary changes in ecological dynamics.
Main Results:
- Fluctuating environments yield multiple stable evolutionary singular strategies, favoring both species with and without energy storage.
- The evolutionary endpoint is contingent on the initial evolutionary state.
- While non-equilibrium dynamics can promote temporary species coexistence and enhance biodiversity, this coexistence is unstable on evolutionary timescales.
Conclusions:
- Periodic environmental fluctuations can drive evolutionary divergence, creating distinct strategies for energy storage.
- Non-equilibrium ecological dynamics can temporarily increase biodiversity but do not guarantee long-term stable coexistence.
- Ultimately, evolutionary pressures in this model lead to the dominance of a single species, despite initial diversification.
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