THE DYNAMICS OF FINITE HAPLOID POPULATIONS WITH OVERLAPPING GENERATIONS. II. THE DIFFUSION APPROXIMATION

Abstract

The dynamics of a gene in a haploid population can be explained approximately by considering the average reproductive value of the gene. The dynamics of the average reproductive value are similar to those of a gene in a population with nonoverlapping generations with the following modifications: The effective population size, Ne, replaces N; the average mutation rates,μ* and v* replace μ and v; the average overall selection r*+(T-l)s** replaces s; and time is measured in terms of generations, T. The implications of the average selection coefficient to adaptive life histones are discussed.