Eur. Phys. J. B 45, 529-532 (2005)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2005-00213-5

Sharp gene pool transition in a population affected by phenotype-based selective hunting

¹ Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud 150, 22290-180, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
² Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Campus da Praia Vermelha, 24210-340, Niterói, RJ, Brasil

Corresponding author: ^a edgardo@cbpf.br

Received: 13 December 2004
Revised: 30 March 2005
Published online: 13 July 2005

Abstract

We use a microscopic model of population dynamics, a modified version of the well known Penna model, to study some aspects of microevolution. This research is motivated by recent reports on the effect of selective hunting on the gene pool of bighorn sheep living in the Ram Mountain region, in Canada. Our model finds a sharp transition in the structure of the gene pool as some threshold for the number of animals hunted is reached.