Conditions for evolutionary branching in two-dimensional trait spaces
Speciation by ecological interaction is an important process underlying the generation of biodiversity. Adaptive dynamics theory provides tools for understanding such processes, in which an evolving population is first attracted to particular locations in trait space (called evolutionary branching points) at which selection subsequently turns disruptive and the founder population is split into two subpopulations. My numerical simulations have already shown that in two-dimensional trait spaces such splits cannot only occur at particular points but also along specific lines in trait space. We are now developing analytical conditions for evolutionary branching in two-dimensional trait spaces, and compare the resulting predictions with numerical simulations.