[Classifieds] WHOI Biology Department Seminar

[MBL Classifieds]

Thursday, January 24
Noon
The Role of Luck in Individual Success
Robin Snyder, Case Western Reserve University
Sponsored by: Biology Department - Redfield Auditorium

There has been strong interest in how intraspecific variation ("trait variation") affects coexistence, stability, productivity, and other aspects of ecological dynamics. However even when all individuals are identical, there is high variability in outcomes: some individuals are lucky while others are not. How much of an individual's lifetime reproductive success is due to who they are ‐‐‐ their traits ‐‐‐ and how much is due to luck? And if luck is an important component, what kinds of luck are most influential at what points in an individual's life? Finally, if luck is important, this weakens the connection between phenotype and fitness ‐‐‐ what does all of this mean for selection? In this talk I demonstrate how to answer these questions mathematically, show answers for some plant and animal case studies, and present some general conclusions on the likely role of luck in individual success.





<mailto:cjohnson at mbl.edu>

<mailto:cjohnson at mbl.edu>
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