When Does Evolution Optimize? On the Relation Between Types of Density Dependence and Evolutionarily Stable Life History Parameters
Authors: Metz JAJ, Mylius SD, Diekmann O
Publication Year: 1996
Reference: IIASA Working Paper WP-96-004
Abstract
In this paper we (i) put forward a simple notational device clarifying the, undeniable but generally ignored, role of density dependence in determining evolutionarily stable life histories, (ii) use this device to derive necessary and sufficient conditions for (a) the existence of an evolutionary extremization principle, and (b) the reduction of such a principle to straight r- or RO-maximization, (iii) use the latter results to analyze a simple concrete example showing that the details of the population dynamical embedding may influence our evolutionary predictions to an unexpected extent.