How fitness, speed and position shape competition in expanding populations
A study published in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment (JSTAT), inspired by the behavior of bacterial colonies observed in previous experiments, uses mathematical models to describe the expansion of competing populations. The aim is to understand which factors determine the success of one population over another.
This study, published in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, explores the factors that shape the expansion of competing populations, inspired by the behavior of bacterial colonies. The research, led by MIT doctoral student Sergio Eraso and physicist Mehran Kardar, reveals that fitness alone is not the decisive factor in population expansion.
Instead, factors such as expansion speed and position along the growth front also play crucial roles. The model predicts that spatial structure influences how fitness is distributed within a population, potentially leaving a measurable fingerprint that could be detected in future experiments. The findings challenge the notion that faster expansion always leads to greater success, as the balance between competitive advantage and expansion speed determines the outcome.
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