Optimal population size allows maximum predictability of evolution
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 - 11:30
in Biology & Nature
(Phys.org)—Evolution in very large populations of plants, animals or fungi can be predicted far less easily than one would expect. This has been shown by research at the Institute for Theoretical Physics of the University of Cologne and the Laboratory of Genetics at Wageningen University (published in the January 9 issue of PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). The researchers combined genetic information from a fungus with computer models which simulate the course of evolution. They concluded that, while evolution in small populations is known to be unpredictable, this is also the case for very large populations. There is an optimal population size for predicting evolutionary outcomes in every situation.