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Neutral theory: a historical perspective.
1Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama. leighl@si.edu
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
|October 25, 2007
Summary
Neutral theory, applied in genetics and ecology, offers simple assumptions for complex systems but has limitations. While useful for generating hypotheses, it cannot fully explain adaptive divergence or ecosystem function.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Population Genetics
Background:
- Neutral theory, originating in population genetics, posits that genetic variation is primarily due to neutral mutations.
- A similar neutral theory was developed for forest ecology, assuming equal reproductive probability for all tree species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the explanatory power and limitations of neutral theory in both population genetics and forest ecology.
- To explore the potential of ecological neutral theory as a null hypothesis for stimulating more realistic ecological models.
Main Methods:
- The study reviews the foundational principles and applications of neutral theory in genetics and ecology.
- It analyzes the predictive success and shortcomings of neutral theory in explaining phenomena like species abundance distributions.
Main Results:
- Neutral theories in both fields have had some predictive success but are not universally applicable.
- Ecological neutral theory's predictions for species abundance distributions closely resemble non-neutral predictions.
- Key ecological processes like adaptive divergence and ecosystem function remain unexplained by neutral theory.
Conclusions:
- Neutral theory provides a valuable framework for generating hypotheses and exploring systems resistant to more complex theories.
- Further development of ecological neutral theory is needed to address new topics and temporal dynamics, thereby stimulating more realistic ecological research.
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