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Fixation probabilities in a spatially heterogeneous environment
Author(s) -
Gavrilets S.,
Gibson N.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
population ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1438-390X
pISSN - 1438-3896
DOI - 10.1007/s101440200007
Subject(s) - biology , fixation (population genetics) , population , allele , locus (genetics) , population size , evolutionary biology , selection (genetic algorithm) , statistical physics , effective population size , genetics , statistics , mathematics , computer science , demography , genetic variation , artificial intelligence , physics , sociology , gene
Abstract We consider a simple model of a one‐locus, two‐allele population inhibiting a two‐patch system and experiencing spatially heterogeneous viability selection. The populaton size is finite. We use a diffusion approximation and singular perturbation techniques to find the probability of fixation of a mutant allele. We focus on situations in which each allele is advantageous in one patch and deleterious in the other patch. Our theoretical results support the previous conclusions that, under certain conditions, small populations respond faster to selection than do large populations. We emphasize that knowledge of the dependence of migration rates on population size is crucial in evaluating the effects of population size on the rate of evolution.