Adaptation and migration of a population between patches

TL;DR

This paper extends Hamilton-Jacobi methods to spatially structured population models with migration, analyzing how small mutations and habitat differences influence the emergence of dominant traits and polymorphism.

Contribution

It develops a Hamilton-Jacobi framework for spatial population models with migration, revealing conditions for polymorphism and trait dominance in heterogeneous habitats.

Findings

Limit of small mutations yields solutions as sums of Dirac masses.

Migration influences dominant traits and can induce polymorphism.

Effective Hamiltonian describes the asymptotic behavior of stationary solutions.

Abstract

A Hamilton-Jacobi formulation has been established previously for phenotypically structured population models where the solution concentrates as Dirac masses in the limit of small diffusion. Is it possible to extend this approach to spatial models? Are the limiting solutions still in the form of sums of Dirac masses? Does the presence of several habitats lead to polymorphic situations? We study the stationary solutions of a structured population model, while the population is structured by continuous phenotypical traits and discrete positions in space. The growth term varies from one habitable zone to another, for instance because of a change in the temperature. The individuals can migrate from one zone to another with a constant rate. The mathematical modeling of this problem, considering mutations between phenotypical traits and competitive interaction of individuals within each zone via a single resource, leads to a system of coupled parabolic integro-differential equations. We study the asymptotic behavior of the stationary solutions to this model in the limit of small mutations. The limit, which is a sum of Dirac masses, can be described with the help of an effective Hamiltonian. The presence of migration can modify the dominant traits and lead to polymorphic situations.