Eco-Evolutionary Models for Continuously Structured Populations
This work presents an eco-evolutionary model for sexually reproducing populations structured by continuous traits. Unlike classical models, which treat the strength of assortative mating as a fixed parameter, the proposed model considers mating preference as a quantitative trait subject to evolution, together with an ecological trait associated with resource utilization. Population dynamics are described by a nonlinear integro-differential equation incorporating frequency-dependent resource competition, mutual mate choice, and genetic inheritance. Numerical simulations were performed to investigate how the interaction among resource competition, inheritance, and the evolution of mating preferences influences the phenotypic diversification of the population. In particular, the conditions promoting the emergence of multiple adaptive strategies, as well as the strong dependence of the final states on the population's initial mating preference, were analyzed. Finally, this work outlines perspectives for future research, both in the development of trait-structured integro-differential models and in the incorporation of spatial dispersal into populations structured by continuous traits.