Stochasticity in evolution

The debate over the role of stochasticity is central in evolutionary biology, often summarised by whether or not evolution is predictable or repeatable. Here we distinguish three types of stochasticity: stochasticity of mutation and variation, of individual life histories and of environmental change...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 2009-03, Vol.24 (3), p.157-165
Main Authors: LENORMAND, Thomas, ROZE, Denis, ROUSSET, Francois
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Biological
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biodiversity and Ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
domain_sde.be.evo
Environment
Environmental Sciences
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects. Techniques
Generalities
Genetic Drift
Genetic Variation
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
Mutation
Population Dynamics
Selection, Genetic
Stochastic Processes
Thermodynamics
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Summary:The debate over the role of stochasticity is central in evolutionary biology, often summarised by whether or not evolution is predictable or repeatable. Here we distinguish three types of stochasticity: stochasticity of mutation and variation, of individual life histories and of environmental change. We then explain when stochasticity matters in evolution, distinguishing four broad situations: stochasticity contributes to maladaptation or limits adaptation; it drives evolution on flat fitness landscapes (evolutionary freedom); it might promote jumps from one fitness peak to another (evolutionary revolutions); and it might shape the selection pressures themselves. We show that stochasticity, by directly steering evolution, has become an essential ingredient of evolutionary theory beyond the classical Wright-Fisher or neutralist-selectionist debates.
ISSN:0169-5347
1872-8383
DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2008.09.014