Evolutionary model with realistic ecological dynamics in network-structured populations

Models of evolution in network-structured populations represented by evolutionary graph theory use a particular class of ecological dynamics based on coupled birth and death processes [9]. This enables a discrete-time structure to be implemented and is very effective where evolutionary and ecological timescales are separable. However, this coupling is unrealistic from a fundamental ecological perspective and causes problems when the timescales cannot be separated. We will develop evolutionary dynamics models with realistic underpinning ecological dynamics in network-structured populations. This also builds on competition dynamics models in developed in epidemic and ecological modelling [65,66]. The development of this framework will provide insights into scenarios in which evolutionary and ecological timescales overlap such as in pathogen evolution.