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The spatio-temporal dynamics of neutral genetic diversity

Ecological Complexity, ISSN: 1476-945X, Vol: 20, Page: 282-292
2014
  • 20
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 26
    Captures
  • 0
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    20
    • Citation Indexes
      20
  • Captures
    26

Article Description

The notions of pulled and pushed solutions of reaction-dispersal equations introduced by Garnier et al. (2012) and Roques et al. (2012) are based on a decomposition of the solutions into several components. In the framework of population dynamics, this decomposition is related to the spatio-temporal evolution of the genetic structure of a population. The pulled solutions describe a rapid erosion of neutral genetic diversity, while the pushed solutions are associated with a maintenance of diversity. This paper is a survey of the most recent applications of these notions to several standard models of population dynamics, including reaction-diffusion equations and systems and integro-differential equations. We describe several counterintuitive results, where unfavorable factors for the persistence and spreading of a population tend to promote diversity in this population. In particular, we show that the Allee effect, the existence of a competitor species, as well as the presence of climate constraints are factors which can promote diversity during a colonization. We also show that long distance dispersal events lead to a higher diversity, whereas the existence of a nonreproductive juvenile stage does not affect the neutral diversity in a range-expanding population.

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