Dynamics of Adaptation and Evolutionary Branching

TLDR

Fitness, defined as the long‑term growth rate, is shaped by the biotic environment, producing an ever‑changing adaptive landscape, while evolution is a dynamics in a variable‑dimensional space reflecting the number of types present. The study introduces a formal framework to model evolutionary dynamics, emphasizing the generation of diversity through branching of the evolutionary tree. The framework models subspace dynamics governed by local fitness gradients, permitting transitions to higher‑dimensional subspaces only at attractors where populations undergo evolutionary branching.

Abstract

We present a formal framework for modeling evolutionary dynamics with special emphasis on the generation of diversity through branching of the evolutionary tree. Fitness is defined as the long term growth rate which is influenced by the biotic environment leading to an ever-changing adaptive landscape. Evolution can be described as a dynamics in a space with variable number of dimensions corresponding to the number of different types present. The dynamics within a subspace is governed by the local fitness gradient. Entering a higher dimensional subspace is possible only at a particular type of attractors where the population undergoes evolutionary branching.