Speaker
Simone Pigolotti
(Niels Bohr Institute)
Description
Population genetics studies how mutant forms of genes spread
in space and can eventually take over a population. The physical
mechanisms underlying this process can be very different in
the ocean,
where flows can radically alter the chances of genes being
fixated. I
will present a new model that generalizes basic models of
population
genetics in the presence of a fluid flow. I will show that
even the
presence of a weak compressible flow has a dramatic effect
on the
fixation times and probabilities. I will then discuss the
possible
consequences of these findings for understanding the behavior of
plankton populations in the oceans.
