Evolutionary Models: Movement and Mixing in Trait and Physical Space

Abstract

Over generations, a species will evolve to increase its fitness to its environment. Natural selection is the primary mechanism by which this occurs, wherein environmental pressures cause individuals with more fit phenotypes to reproduce at a higher rate. For the purpose of modeling, the space of possible heritable traits may be viewed as a continuum, and a particular individual as inhabiting a point in trait space. Making the biomass continuous as well, a population is viewed as a distribution in trait space. In this view, natural selection is the process by which the distribution of biomass propagates through trait space, generally increasing its average fitness.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 08, 2011
Accession Number
ADA558763

Entities

People

  • Glenn R. Flierl

Organizations

  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biological Phenomena
  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Climate Change
  • Cold Water
  • Competition
  • Demographic Cohorts
  • Diffusion
  • Dynamics
  • Environment
  • Equations
  • Genetic Phenomena
  • Genetics
  • Mutations
  • Payload
  • Phenotypes
  • Regions

Readers

  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space