MMEE2024

Mathematical Models in Ecology and Evolution

July 15-18, 2024
Vienna, AUSTRIA

"A diffusion approximation for the joint distribution of population size and allele frequencies"

Barton, Nick

The diffusion approximation is central to population genetics, but is less widely used to model population dynamics. Wright's stationary distribution for allele frequencies extends naturally to also describe changes in population size, provided that selection is independent of density. Allele frequencies are coupled to population size through the factor exp(2Nr), where r is the mean fitness, and N the population size. This framework allows study of the feedback between adaptation and population size, and its effects on diversity, genetic load, and extinction. (This work is based on Szep et al. (Evolution, 2021), Sachdeva et al. (Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. B 2022), and Olusanya et al. (bioRxiv, 2023)).

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