Small populations corrections for selection-mutation models

Abstract

We consider integro-differential models describing the evolution of a population structured by a quantitative trait. Individuals interact competitively, creating a strong selection pressure on the population. On the other hand, mutations are assumed to be small. Following the formalism of [20], this creates concentration phenomena, typically consisting in a sum of Dirac masses slowly evolving in time. We propose a modification to those classical models that takes the effect of small populations into accounts and corrects some abnormal behaviours. © American Institute of Mathematical Sciences.