Some colourful lizards and a mathematical formula from the finance sector have been used to build a new framework to model evolution.<\/p>\n
Developed by Dr Simone Blomberg<\/a> from The University of Queensland\u2019s School of the Environment<\/a>, it is the first mathematical model to combine short-term natural selection (microevolution) with the way species evolve over millions of years (macroevolution).<\/p>\n \u201cThere has been a big debate about whether microevolution can explain all of macroevolution,\u201d Dr Blomberg said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can now resolve the debate with a model that incorporates both, while tracking the way traits within a species change together over time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe model will allow researchers to study how traits and their genetic relationships evolve over both short and long timescales.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The new evolutionary model borrows mathematics developed to illustrate share portfolios and how the share prices of different companies are related to each other over time.<\/p>\n \u201cEconomics has been a source of ideas in evolutionary biology since the time of Charles Darwin more than 160 years ago,\u201d Dr Blomberg said.<\/p>\n In this study a dataset of the genetic traits and evolution of a genus of Central American lizard, called Anolis, was applied to the share portfolio equations.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are 7 species of these colourful and small Anolis lizards with data on the variations in 8 traits, including leg bone lengths, jaw size and head width,\u201d Dr Blomberg said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe fitted the business mathematical model to the lizard data, which was very exciting.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time, the relationship between the traits as they evolved together into the different species of Anolis can be expressed in a mathematical model.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cWe were able to use advanced geometrical methods to trace the evolution of the Anolis species, keeping true to the genetic relationships among traits.<\/p>\n \u201cThis area of mathematics is not well known among biologists, but it proved essential in uniting the micro- and macro-evolutionary frameworks.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Blomberg wants other scientists to now use the model and explore its possibilities.<\/p>\n \u201cI want this mathematical model to be tested with datasets of more species,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can be used to test theories about trait convergence and the role of natural selection in shaping the evolutionary history of organisms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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