Models of genetic drift as limiting forms of the Lotka-Volterra competition model

Abstract: The relationship between the Moran model and stochastic Lotka-Volterra competition (SLVC) model is explored via timescale separation arguments. For neutral systems the two are found to be equivalent at long times. For systems with selective pressure, their behavior differs. It is argued that the SLVC is preferable to the Moran model since in the SLVC population size is regulated by competition, rather than arbitrarily fixed as in the Moran model. As a consequence, ambiguities found in the Moran model associated with the introduction of more complex processes, such as selection, are avoided.