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The Origin of Species by Means of Mathematical Modelling

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Abstract

Darwin described biological species as groups of morphologically similar individuals. These groups of individuals can split into several subgroups due to natural selection, resulting in the emergence of new species. Some species can stay stable without the appearance of a new species, some others can disappear or evolve. Some of these evolutionary patterns were described in our previous works independently of each other. In this work we have developed a single model which allows us to reproduce the principal patterns in Darwin’s diagram. Some more complex evolutionary patterns are also observed. The relation between Darwin’s definition of species, stated above, and Mayr’s definition of species (group of individuals that can reproduce) is also discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to R. Penner for his help in the preparation of the manuscript. N. Bessonov was supported by Russian Foundation of Basic Research grant 16-01-00068, 2016-2018. V. Volpert was supported by the “RUDN University Program 5-100”.

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Correspondence to Vitaly Volpert.

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Bessonov, N., Reinberg, N., Banerjee, M. et al. The Origin of Species by Means of Mathematical Modelling. Acta Biotheor 66, 333–344 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10441-018-9328-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10441-018-9328-9

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