Price's equation made clear

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
Andy Gardner

Abstract

Price's equation provides a very simple-and very general-encapsulation of evolutionary change. It forms the mathematical foundations of several topics in evolutionary biology, and has also been applied outwith evolutionary biology to a wide range of other scientific disciplines. However, the equation's combination of simplicity and generality has led to a number of misapprehensions as to what it is saying and how it is supposed to be used. Here, I give a simple account of what Price's equation is, how it is derived, what it is saying and why this is useful. In particular, I suggest that Price's equation is useful not primarily as a predictor of evolutionary change but because it provides a general theory of selection. As an illustration, I discuss some of the insights Price's equation has brought to the study of social evolution. This article is part of the theme issue 'Fifty years of the Price equation'.

References

Jun 1, 1986·Heredity·S A Frank
Nov 1, 1972·Annals of Human Genetics·G R Price
Apr 1, 1972·Annals of Human Genetics·G R Price
Aug 1, 1970·Nature·G R Price
Jul 1, 1964·Journal of Theoretical Biology·W D Hamilton
Aug 7, 1995·Journal of Theoretical Biology·S A Frank
Aug 7, 1995·Journal of Theoretical Biology·G R Price
Jul 21, 2000·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·A Grafen
Jul 28, 2005·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Alan Grafen
Dec 17, 2009·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·E G Leigh
Mar 5, 2011·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·A GardnerG Wild
Aug 16, 2011·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Matthijs van VeelenMartijn Egas
Dec 6, 2014·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·A Gardner
Aug 13, 2015·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·A Gardner

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Citations

Mar 10, 2020·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Heikki Helanterä, Tobias Uller
Mar 10, 2020·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Jussi LehtonenHeikki Helanterä
May 18, 2021·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Alex Mesoudi

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