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Habitat geometry, population viscosity and the rate of genetic drift

Habitat geometry, population viscosity and the rate of genetic drift
Habitat geometry, population viscosity and the rate of genetic drift
In all natural populations, individuals located close to one another tend to interact more than those further apart. The extent of population viscosity can have important implications for ecological and evolutionary processes. Here we develop a spatially explicit population model to examine how the rate of genetic drift depends upon both spatial population structure and habitat geometry. The results show that the time to fixation for a new and selectively neutral mutation is dramatically increased in viscous populations. Furthermore, in viscous populations the time to fixation depends critically on habitat geometry. Fixation time for populations of identical size increases markedly as landscape width decreases and length increases. We suggest that similar effects will also be important in metapopulations, with the spatial arrangement of subpopulations and their connectivity likely to determine the rate of drift. We argue that the recent increases in computer power should facilitate major advances in our understanding of evolutionary landscape ecology over the next few years, and suggest that the time is ripe for a unification of spatial population dynamics theory, landscape ecology and population genetics.
genetic drift, metapopulation viscosity, habitat geometry
1574-9541
153-161
Travis, J.M.J.
907f3125-f2d6-474a-827d-e70f727389dc
Ezard, T.H.G.
a143a893-07d0-4673-a2dd-cea2cd7e1374
Travis, J.M.J.
907f3125-f2d6-474a-827d-e70f727389dc
Ezard, T.H.G.
a143a893-07d0-4673-a2dd-cea2cd7e1374

Travis, J.M.J. and Ezard, T.H.G. (2006) Habitat geometry, population viscosity and the rate of genetic drift. Ecological Informatics, 1 (2), 153-161. (doi:10.1016/j.ecoinf.2006.03.003).

Record type: Article

Abstract

In all natural populations, individuals located close to one another tend to interact more than those further apart. The extent of population viscosity can have important implications for ecological and evolutionary processes. Here we develop a spatially explicit population model to examine how the rate of genetic drift depends upon both spatial population structure and habitat geometry. The results show that the time to fixation for a new and selectively neutral mutation is dramatically increased in viscous populations. Furthermore, in viscous populations the time to fixation depends critically on habitat geometry. Fixation time for populations of identical size increases markedly as landscape width decreases and length increases. We suggest that similar effects will also be important in metapopulations, with the spatial arrangement of subpopulations and their connectivity likely to determine the rate of drift. We argue that the recent increases in computer power should facilitate major advances in our understanding of evolutionary landscape ecology over the next few years, and suggest that the time is ripe for a unification of spatial population dynamics theory, landscape ecology and population genetics.

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More information

Published date: 2006
Keywords: genetic drift, metapopulation viscosity, habitat geometry
Organisations: Environmental

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 344737
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/344737
ISSN: 1574-9541
PURE UUID: b3594ca2-28e4-44c6-a416-89ed36093a35
ORCID for T.H.G. Ezard: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8305-6605

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Date deposited: 12 Feb 2013 14:45
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:46

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Contributors

Author: J.M.J. Travis
Author: T.H.G. Ezard ORCID iD

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