Dynamic Landscapes: A Model of Context and Contingency in Evolution

Abstract: The basic mechanics of evolution have been understood since Darwin. But debate continues over whether macroevolutionary phenomena are driven primary by the fitness structure of genotype space or by ecological interaction. In this paper we propose a simple, abstract model capturing some key features of fitness-landscape and ecological models of evolution. Our model describes evolutionary dynamics in a high-dimensional, structured genotype space with a significant role for interspecific interaction. We find some promising qualitative similarity with the empirical facts about macroevolution, including broadly distributed extinction sizes and realistic exploration of the genotype space. The abstraction of our model permits numerous interpretations and applications beyond macroevolution, including molecular evolution and technological innovation.