Qualitative properties of the spreading speed of a population structured in space and in phenotype

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the spreading speed of a population modeled by a nonlocal Fisher-KPP equation, considering spatial and phenotypic heterogeneity, and explores how various scaling limits and phenotypic dimensions influence this speed.

Contribution

It establishes a Freidlin-G"artner formula for spreading speed and investigates its behavior under different scaling limits, revealing new phenomena due to phenotypic structure.

Findings

Derived a formula for spreading speed in heterogeneous environments

Analyzed effects of small and large period and mutation coefficients on speed

Discovered new phenomena related to phenotypic dimensions

Abstract

We consider a nonlocal Fisher-KPP equation that models a population structured in space and in phenotype. The population lives in a heterogeneous periodic environment: the diffusion coefficient, the mutation coefficient and the fitness of an individual may depend on its spatial position and on its phenotype. We first prove a Freidlin-G\"artner formula for the spreading speed of the population. We then study the behaviour of the spreading speed in different scaling limits (small and large period, small and large mutation coefficient). Finally, we exhibit new phenomena arising thanks to the phenotypic dimension. Our results are also valid when the phenotype is seen as another spatial variable along which the population does not spread.