TY - CHAP AU - Barton, Nicholas H ID - 10899 KW - Adaptive landscape KW - Cline KW - Coalescent process KW - Gene flow KW - Hybrid zone KW - Local adaptation KW - Natural selection KW - Neutral theory KW - Population structure KW - Speciation SN - 978-0-12-384720-1 T2 - Encyclopedia of Biodiversity TI - Differentiation ER - TY - JOUR AB - Negative frequency-dependent selection should result in equal sex ratios in large populations of dioecious flowering plants, but deviations from equality are commonly reported. A variety of ecological and genetic factors can explain biased sex ratios, although the mechanisms involved are not well understood. Most dioecious species are long-lived and/or clonal complicating efforts to identify stages during the life cycle when biases develop. We investigated the demographic correlates of sex-ratio variation in two chromosome races of Rumex hastatulus, an annual, wind-pollinated colonizer of open habitats from the southern USA. We examined sex ratios in 46 populations and evaluated the hypothesis that the proximity of males in the local mating environment, through its influence on gametophytic selection, is the primary cause of female-biased sex ratios. Female-biased sex ratios characterized most populations of R. hastatulus (mean sex ratio = 0.62), with significant female bias in 89% of populations. Large, high-density populations had the highest proportion of females, whereas smaller, low-density populations had sex ratios closer to equality. Progeny sex ratios were more female biased when males were in closer proximity to females, a result consistent with the gametophytic selection hypothesis. Our results suggest that interactions between demographic and genetic factors are probably the main cause of female-biased sex ratios in R. hastatulus. The annual life cycle of this species may limit the scope for selection against males and may account for the weaker degree of bias in comparison with perennial Rumex species. AU - Pickup, Melinda AU - Barrett, Spencer ID - 2287 IS - 3 JF - Ecology and Evolution TI - The influence of demography and local mating environment on sex ratios in a wind-pollinated dioecious plant VL - 3 ER - TY - JOUR AB - When a mutation with selective advantage s spreads through a panmictic population, it may cause two lineages at a linked locus to coalesce; the probability of coalescence is exp(−2rT), where T∼log(2Ns)/s is the time to fixation, N is the number of haploid individuals, and r is the recombination rate. Population structure delays fixation, and so weakens the effect of a selective sweep. However, favourable alleles spread through a spatially continuous population behind a narrow wavefront; ancestral lineages are confined at the tip of this front, and so coalesce rapidly. In extremely dense populations, coalescence is dominated by rare fluctuations ahead of the front. However, we show that for moderate densities, a simple quasi-deterministic approximation applies: the rate of coalescence within the front is λ∼2g(η)/(ρℓ), where ρ is the population density and is the characteristic scale of the wavefront; g(η) depends only on the strength of random drift, . The net effect of a sweep on coalescence also depends crucially on whether two lineages are ever both within the wavefront at the same time: even in the extreme case when coalescence within the front is instantaneous, the net rate of coalescence may be lower than in a single panmictic population. Sweeps can also have a substantial impact on the rate of gene flow. A single lineage will jump to a new location when it is hit by a sweep, with mean square displacement ; this can be substantial if the species’ range, L, is large, even if the species-wide rate of sweeps per map length, Λ/R, is small. This effect is half as strong in two dimensions. In contrast, the rate of coalescence between lineages, at random locations in space and on the genetic map, is proportional to (c/L)(Λ/R), where c is the wavespeed: thus, on average, one-dimensional structure is likely to reduce coalescence due to sweeps, relative to panmixis. In two dimensions, genes must move along the front before they can coalesce; this process is rapid, being dominated by rare fluctuations. This leads to a dramatically higher rate of coalescence within the wavefront than if lineages simply diffused along the front. Nevertheless, the net rate of coalescence due to a sweep through a two-dimensional population is likely to be lower than it would be with panmixis. AU - Barton, Nicholas H AU - Etheridge, Alison AU - Kelleher, Jerome AU - Véber, Amandine ID - 2473 IS - 8 JF - Theoretical Population Biology TI - Genetic hitch-hiking in spatially extended populations VL - 87 ER - TY - CONF AB - Even though both population and quantitative genetics, and evolutionary computation, deal with the same questions, they have developed largely independently of each other. I review key results from each field, emphasising those that apply independently of the (usually unknown) relation between genotype and phenotype. The infinitesimal model provides a simple framework for predicting the response of complex traits to selection, which in biology has proved remarkably successful. This allows one to choose the schedule of population sizes and selection intensities that will maximise the response to selection, given that the total number of individuals realised, C = ∑t Nt, is constrained. This argument shows that for an additive trait (i.e., determined by the sum of effects of the genes), the optimum population size and the maximum possible response (i.e., the total change in trait mean) are both proportional to √C. AU - Barton, Nicholas H AU - Paixao, Tiago ID - 2718 T2 - Proceedings of the 15th annual conference on Genetic and evolutionary computation TI - Can quantitative and population genetics help us understand evolutionary computation? ER - TY - JOUR AB - Knowledge of the rate and fitness effects of mutations is essential for understanding the process of evolution. Mutations are inherently difficult to study because they are rare and are frequently eliminated by natural selection. In the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila, mutations can accumulate in the germline genome without being exposed to selection. We have conducted a mutation accumulation (MA) experiment in this species. Assuming that all mutations are deleterious and have the same effect, we estimate that the deleterious mutation rate per haploid germline genome per generation is U = 0.0047 (95% credible interval: 0.0015, 0.0125), and that germline mutations decrease fitness by s = 11% when expressed in a homozygous state (95% CI: 4.4%, 27%). We also estimate that deleterious mutations are partially recessive on average (h = 0.26; 95% CI: –0.022, 0.62) and that the rate of lethal mutations is <10% of the deleterious mutation rate. Comparisons between the observed evolutionary responses in the germline and somatic genomes and the results from individual-based simulations of MA suggest that the two genomes have similar mutational parameters. These are the first estimates of the deleterious mutation rate and fitness effects from the eukaryotic supergroup Chromalveolata and are within the range of those of other eukaryotes. AU - Long, Hongan AU - Paixao, Tiago AU - Azevedo, Ricardo AU - Zufall, Rebecca ID - 2720 IS - 2 JF - Genetics TI - Accumulation of spontaneous mutations in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila VL - 195 ER - TY - CONF AB - Prediction of the evolutionary process is a long standing problem both in the theory of evolutionary biology and evolutionary computation (EC). It has long been realized that heritable variation is crucial to both the response to selection and the success of genetic algorithms. However, not all variation contributes in the same way to the response. Quantitative genetics has developed a large body of work trying to estimate and understand how different components of the variance in fitness in the population contribute to the response to selection. We illustrate how to apply some concepts of quantitative genetics to the analysis of genetic algorithms. In particular, we derive estimates for the short term prediction of the response to selection and we use variance decomposition to gain insight on local aspects of the landscape. Finally, we propose a new population based genetic algorithm that uses these methods to improve its operation. AU - Paixao, Tiago AU - Barton, Nicholas H ID - 2719 T2 - Proceedings of the 15th annual conference on Genetic and evolutionary computation TI - A variance decomposition approach to the analysis of genetic algorithms ER - TY - JOUR AB - The basic idea of evolutionary game theory is that payoff determines reproductive rate. Successful individuals have a higher payoff and produce more offspring. But in evolutionary and ecological situations there is not only reproductive rate but also carrying capacity. Individuals may differ in their exposure to density limiting effects. Here we explore an alternative approach to evolutionary game theory by assuming that the payoff from the game determines the carrying capacity of individual phenotypes. Successful strategies are less affected by density limitation (crowding) and reach higher equilibrium abundance. We demonstrate similarities and differences between our framework and the standard replicator equation. Our equation is defined on the positive orthant, instead of the simplex, but has the same equilibrium points as the replicator equation. Linear stability analysis produces the classical conditions for asymptotic stability of pure strategies, but the stability properties of internal equilibria can differ in the two frameworks. For example, in a two-strategy game with an internal equilibrium that is always stable under the replicator equation, the corresponding equilibrium can be unstable in the new framework resulting in a limit cycle. AU - Novak, Sebastian AU - Chatterjee, Krishnendu AU - Nowak, Martin ID - 2817 JF - Journal of Theoretical Biology TI - Density games VL - 334 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The primary goal of restoration is to create self-sustaining ecological communities that are resilient to periodic disturbance. Currently, little is known about how restored communities respond to disturbance events such as fire and how this response compares to remnant vegetation. Following the 2003 fires in south-eastern Australia we examined the post-fire response of revegetation plantings and compared this to remnant vegetation. Ten burnt and 10 unburnt (control) sites were assessed for each of three types of vegetation (direct seeding revegetation, revegetation using nursery seedlings (tubestock) and remnant woodland). Sixty sampling sites were surveyed 6months after fire to quantify the initial survival of mid- and overstorey plant species in each type of vegetation. Three and 5years after fire all sites were resurveyed to assess vegetation structure, species diversity and vigour, as well as indicators of soil function. Overall, revegetation showed high (>60%) post-fire survival, but this varied among species depending on regeneration strategy (obligate seeder or resprouter). The native ground cover, mid- and overstorey in both types of plantings showed rapid recovery of vegetation structure and cover within 3years of fire. This recovery was similar to the burnt remnant woodlands. Non-native (exotic) ground cover initially increased after fire, but was no different in burnt and unburnt sites 5years after fire. Fire had no effect on species richness, but burnt direct seeding sites had reduced species diversity (Simpson's Diversity Index) while diversity was higher in burnt remnant woodlands. Indices of soil function in all types of vegetation had recovered to levels found in unburnt sites 5years after fire. These results indicate that even young revegetation (stands <10years old) showed substantial recovery from disturbance by fire. This suggests that revegetation can provide an important basis for restoring woodland communities in the fire-prone Australian environment. AU - Pickup, Melinda AU - Wilson, Susie AU - Freudenberger, David AU - Nicholls, Nick AU - Gould, Lori AU - Hnatiuk, Sarah AU - Delandre, Jeni ID - 2823 IS - 3 JF - Austral Ecology TI - Post-fire recovery of revegetated woodland communities in south-eastern Australia VL - 38 ER - TY - JOUR AB - We outline two approaches to inference of neighbourhood size, N, and dispersal rate, σ2, based on either allele frequencies or on the lengths of sequence blocks that are shared between genomes. Over intermediate timescales (10-100 generations, say), populations that live in two dimensions approach a quasi-equilibrium that is independent of both their local structure and their deeper history. Over such scales, the standardised covariance of allele frequencies (i.e. pairwise FS T) falls with the logarithm of distance, and depends only on neighbourhood size, N, and a 'local scale', κ; the rate of gene flow, σ2, cannot be inferred. We show how spatial correlations can be accounted for, assuming a Gaussian distribution of allele frequencies, giving maximum likelihood estimates of N and κ. Alternatively, inferences can be based on the distribution of the lengths of sequence that are identical between blocks of genomes: long blocks (>0.1 cM, say) tell us about intermediate timescales, over which we assume a quasi-equilibrium. For large neighbourhood size, the distribution of long blocks is given directly by the classical Wright-Malécot formula; this relationship can be used to infer both N and σ2. With small neighbourhood size, there is an appreciable chance that recombinant lineages will coalesce back before escaping into the distant past. For this case, we show that if genomes are sampled from some distance apart, then the distribution of lengths of blocks that are identical in state is geometric, with a mean that depends on N and σ2. AU - Barton, Nicholas H AU - Etheridge, Alison AU - Kelleher, Jerome AU - Véber, Amandine ID - 2842 IS - 1 JF - Theoretical Population Biology TI - Inference in two dimensions: Allele frequencies versus lengths of shared sequence blocks VL - 87 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Coalescent simulation has become an indispensable tool in population genetics and many complex evolutionary scenarios have been incorporated into the basic algorithm. Despite many years of intense interest in spatial structure, however, there are no available methods to simulate the ancestry of a sample of genes that occupy a spatial continuum. This is mainly due to the severe technical problems encountered by the classical model of isolation by distance. A recently introduced model solves these technical problems and provides a solid theoretical basis for the study of populations evolving in continuous space. We present a detailed algorithm to simulate the coalescent process in this model, and provide an efficient implementation of a generalised version of this algorithm as a freely available Python module. AU - Kelleher, Jerome AU - Barton, Nicholas H AU - Etheridge, Alison ID - 2910 IS - 7 JF - Bioinformatics TI - Coalescent simulation in continuous space VL - 29 ER -