Heritable trait variation is a central and necessary ingredient of evolution. Trait variation also directly affects ecological processes, generating a clear link between evolutionary and ecological dynamics. Despite the changes in variation that occur through selection, drift, mutation, and recombination, current eco‐evolutionary models usually fail to track how variation changes through time. Moreover, eco‐evolutionary models assume fitness functions for each trait and each ecological context, which often do not have empirical validation. We introduce a new type of model, Gillespie eco‐evolutionary models (
Understanding the interplay between ecological processes and the evolutionary dynamics of quantitative traits in natural systems remains a major challenge. Two main theoretical frameworks are used to address this question, adaptive dynamics and quantitative genetics, both of which have strengths and limitations and are often used by distinct research communities to address different questions. In order to make progress, new theoretical developments are needed that integrate these approaches and strengthen the link to empirical data. Here, we discuss a novel theoretical framework that bridges the gap between quantitative genetics and adaptive dynamics approaches. ‘Oligomorphic dynamics’ can be used to analyse eco‐evolutionary dynamics across different time scales and extends quantitative genetics theory to account for multimodal trait distributions, the dynamical nature of genetic variance, the potential for disruptive selection due to ecological feedbacks, and the non‐normal or skewed trait distributions encountered in nature. Oligomorphic dynamics explicitly takes into account the effect of environmental feedback, such as frequency‐ and density‐dependent selection, on the dynamics of multi‐modal trait distributions and we argue it has the potential to facilitate a much tighter integration between eco‐evolutionary theory and empirical data.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 2011109
- PAR ID:
- 10409601
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Ecology Letters
- Volume:
- 26
- Issue:
- S1
- ISSN:
- 1461-023X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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