Equation 3 · Part 2 · Comparing the Main Approaches to Evolutionary Biology and Ecology

Symbol p_t

p_{t+1} = \frac{p_t (1 + s)}{1 + s\, p_t}

p_t

What this part means

$p_t$ is one of the signed contributions combined to compute the quantity on the left.

Its job in the formula

$p_t$ is one of the signed contributions combined to compute the quantity on the left.

Full expressionSymbol p_tArticle meaning

The passage around this formula

…selection coefficient s favoring the allele at frequency p : $p_{t+1} = \frac{p_t (1 + s)}{1 + s\, p_t}$ . The equation exposes the model’s real content: selection is strongest while the favored allele is at intermediate frequency, where $p_t(1-p_t)$ is largest, and weakens automatically as the allele nears fixation or loss, purely from the algebra of the denominator — a pattern of decelerating change that shows up empirically in both the Grants’ beak-size tracking and the LTEE’s fitness trajectories, even though the two systems…

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Learn the underlying idea

A subscript is a label attached below a symbol. It often selects a time step, component, category, or member of a sequence.

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Sources cited in the article section

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