title: Evolutionary processes in finite populations.
abstract: We consider the evolution of large but finite populations on arbitrary fitness landscapes. We describe the evolutionary process by a Markov-Moran process. We show that to O(1/N), the time-averaged fitness is lower for the finite population than it is for the infinite population. We also show that fluctuations in the number of individuals for a given genotype can be proportional to a power of the inverse of the mutation rate. Finally, we show that the probability for the system to take a given path through the fitness landscape can be nonmonotonic in system size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Dirk M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.forename: Jeong-Man
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Deem
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003198:Computer Simulation; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D015233:Models, Statistical