The impact of dormancy on evolutionary branching

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Biology
• Theoretical Ecology
• Mathematical Biology

Background:

• Adaptive dynamics models explore evolutionary processes in large populations.
• Stochasticity and mutation rates are key factors in evolutionary trajectories.
• Dormancy's role in evolutionary diversification remains an area of active research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of dormancy on evolutionary branching in stochastic adaptive dynamics.
• To extend the Canonical Equation of Adaptive Dynamics to include dormancy effects.
• To analyze dormancy's influence on sympatric speciation models.

Main Methods:

• Derivation of the Polymorphic Evolution Sequence from an individual-based micro-model.
• Application of a 'small mutations' limit to derive the Canonical Equation of Adaptive Dynamics.
• Analysis using a criterion for evolutionary branching, extending prior work.

Main Results:

• Dormancy broadens the parameter range for evolutionary branching.
• Dormancy enhances carrying capacity and niche width of emerging subpopulations.
• Dormancy can alter the speed of adaptation and increases genetic distance between subpopulations, thereby boosting diversity.

Conclusions:

• Dormancy significantly influences evolutionary trajectories, promoting diversification.
• The findings provide a quantitative and qualitative understanding of dormancy's role in speciation.
• Dormancy acts as a mechanism to increase biological diversity within populations.