The evolution of resource adaptation: how generalist and specialist consumers evolve.
Publication Year
2006
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Why and how specialist and generalist strategies evolve are important questions in evolutionary ecology. In this paper, with the method of adaptive dynamics and evolutionary branching, we identify conditions that select for specialist and generalist strategies. Generally, generalist strategies evolve if there is a switching benefit; specialists evolve if there is a switching cost. If the switching cost is large, specialists always evolve. If the switching cost is small, even though the consumer will first evolve toward a generalist strategy, it will eventually branch into two specialists.
Journal
Bulletin of mathematical biology
Volume
68
Issue
5
Pages
1111-23
Date Published
07/2006
ISSN Number
0092-8240
Alternate Journal
Bull Math Biol
PMID
16832741