Weak selection can filter environmental noise in the evolution of animal behavior.

Abstract

Weak selection is an important assumption in theoretical evolutionary biology, but its biological significance remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the effect of weak selection on stochastic evolutionary stability in a two-phenotype evolutionary game dynamics with a random payoff matrix assuming an infinite, well-mixed population undergoing discrete, nonoverlapping generations. We show that, under weak selection, both stochastic local stability and stochastic evolutionary stability in this system depend on the means of the random payoffs but not on their variances. Moreover, although stochastic local stability or instability of an equilibrium may not depend on environmental noise if selection is weak enough, the growth rate near an equilibrium not only depends on environmental noise, but can even be enhanced by environmental noise if selection is weak. This is the case, for instance, when the variances of the random payoffs as well as the covariances are equal. These results suggest that natural selection could be able to filter (or resist) the effect of environmental noise on the evolution of animal behavior if selection is weak.