posted on 2014-04-15, 00:00authored byPhilippe Desjardins-Proulx, Dominique Gravel
Patterns of biodiversity predicted by the neutral theory rely on a simple phenomenological model of speciation. To further investigate the effect of speciation on neutral biodiversity, we analyze
a spatially explicit neutral model based on population genetics. We define the metacommunity as a system of populations exchanging migrants, and we use this framework to introduce speciation with
little or no gene flow (allopatric and parapatric speciation). We find
that with realistic mutation rates, our metacommunity model driven by neutral processes cannot support more than a few species. Adding natural selection in the population genetics of speciation increases
the number of species in the metacommunity, but the level of diversity found in the Barro Colorado Island is difficult to reach.
Funding
This work was supported by a research grant from the Canada Research Chair program to D.G.