The effect analysis of the diapause duration on the hatching parameters of the artificial semi-annual population of Lymantria dispar caterpillars

The paper investigates the existence of a relationship between the diapause duration and the temperature threshold of hatching, the variances in temperature and hatching time of the artificial six-month population of Lymantria dispar caterpillars. A half-year population gives two generations a year under artificial conditions. A comparative analysis of these parameters with similar parameters of the hybrid population of L. dispar, as well as studies by other authors, has been carried out. The Eigen quasispecies model was used for the mathematical formalization of the evolution process. The results of this work can be used to study the evolution of L. dispar.

Estimate of parameters changing of the Lymantria dispar artificial population in different environmental conditions using the quasispecies model

This paper gives an interpretation of the quasispecies concept for an experiment of growing the Lymantria dispar artificial population. The changes estimate in the population parameters for a significant change in environmental conditions at the stage of hatching caterpillars from the eggs was given. Three numerical and two random parameters were used for quantitative analysis. They characterize the development of individuals of the population at this stage. The parameter changes significance was verified with using statistical tests. The results obtained do not contradict the quasispecies model. The use of fuzzy sets describes the transition from one quasispecies to another at a significant change in environmental conditions.

Effects of phenotypic robustness on adaptive evolutionary dynamics

Theoretical and experimental studies have provided evidence for a positive role of phenotype resistance to genetic mutation in enhancing long-term adaptation to novel environments. With the aim of contributing to an understanding of the origin and evolution of phenotypic robustness to genetic mutations in organismal systems, we adopted a theoretical approach, elaborating on a classical mathematical formalizations of evolutionary dynamics, the quasispecies model. We show that a certain level of phenotypic robustness is not only a favourable condition for adaptation to occur, but that it is also a necessary condition for short-term adaptation in most real organismal systems. This appears as a threshold effect, i.e. as a minimum level of phenotypic robustness (critical robustness) below which evolutionary adaptation cannot consistently occur or be maintained, even in the case of sizably selection coefficients and in the absence of any drift effect. These results, are in agreement with the observed pervasiveness of robustness at different levels of biological organization, from molecules to whole organisms.