Natural selection, fitness entropy, and the dynamics of coevolution (Q1086195)

Single locus genetic models of weak selection were combined with Lotka- Volterra models of population growth to study the coevolutionary dynamics of interacting populations (species). Using the fitness entropy function the selective difference area as the total difference between population size trajectories of the evolving population and a reference population initially in equilibrium is obtained. This is shown to be a linear function of the fitness entropies of each species. Thereby the extra life a species would realize if the entire community were at equilibrium is estimated, which is shown to be independent of the strength of selection. Numerical examples and a generalization for arbitrary population growth are also given.