Generalization of the Price equation for evolutionary change

Evolution. 2009 Feb;63(2):531-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00570.x.

Abstract

The Price equation is recognized as a general statistical description of evolutionary change with the potential to represent diverse processes. Here we present a new structurally symmetric equation for change that allows for arbitrary causal connectivity between ancestors and descendants, accounts for previously unaddressed processes (such as migration), and yields the Price equation as a special case.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biological Evolution*
  • Ecosystem
  • Models, Genetic*
  • Population Dynamics