
doi: 10.1111/evo.12492
pmid: 25087681
We present two theoretical approaches to investigate whether organismal complexity, defined as the number of quantitative traits determining fitness, and the potential for adaptive diversification are correlated. The first approach is independent of any specific ecological model and based on curvature properties of the fitness landscape as a function of the dimension of the trait space. This approach indeed suggests a positive correlation between complexity and diversity. An assumption made in this first approach is that the potential for any pair of traits to interact in their effect on fitness is independent of the dimension of the trait space. In the second approach, we circumvent making this assumption by analyzing the evolutionary dynamics in an explicit consumer-resource model in which the shape of the fitness landscape emerges from the underlying mechanistic ecological model. In this model, consumers are characterized by several quantitative traits and feed on a multidimensional resource distribution. The consumer's feeding efficiency on the resource is determined by the match between consumer phenotype and resource item. This analysis supports a positive correlation between the complexity of the evolving consumer species and its potential to diversify with the additional insight that also increasing resource complexity facilitates diversification.
Genetic polymorphism, Models, Genetic, Genetic Variation, 101004 Biomathematics, Biological Evolution, Frequency dependence, Genetics, Population, 101004 Biomathematik, Mutation, Consumer-resource model, Multidimensional trait space, Genetic Fitness, Evolutionary branching, Adaptive dynamics
Genetic polymorphism, Models, Genetic, Genetic Variation, 101004 Biomathematics, Biological Evolution, Frequency dependence, Genetics, Population, 101004 Biomathematik, Mutation, Consumer-resource model, Multidimensional trait space, Genetic Fitness, Evolutionary branching, Adaptive dynamics
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 26 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Top 10% | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
