A Methodology for the Stochastic Modelling and Simulation of Sympatric Speciation by Sexual Selection

In the evolution literature, sympatric speciation is the origin of two, or more, species from a single local population. Many models have been developed to study the role of ecological competition and sexual selection in sympatric speciation. In this paper we propose a methodology for systematically deriving efficient computational models to study speciation in populations evolving with overlapping generations. As a particular case, we consider sympatric speciation by sexual selection and we follow an individual based approach: a population is represented as a set of individuals that can mate and survive according to given probabilities. We use our methodology to construct four different models for sympatric speciation, based on male traits and female preferences. These models differ in the genotypical representation of the individuals. Results of simulations in the different models are shown and discussed. The study of the models show that sympatric speciation by sexual selection is unlikely, also with a favorable distribution of genotypes in the initial population.