Population Dynamics in Changing Environment

Abstract

Up till now in all the models considered the environment where the population evolves, was assumed to be invariable. The environmental effects in our models were characterized only by the coefficients of the relative viability, therefore they were considered to be dependent neither on time (the environment is invariable in time), nor on gene frequencies. The latter implies that we do not treat the so-called ‘genotypic environment’, the pressure of selection being independent of the concentrations of particular genotypes in the population. Otherwise the population in evolution makes up its ‘genotypic environment’, and since the pressure of selection is a function of gene frequencies, the ‘genotypic environment’, in turn, determines further population dynamics. The arrival of this feedback can result in most unexpected effects, for instance a stable state may be substituted by a similar but unstable one.