This result derives from the fact that whereas large populations evolve mostly deterministically and often become trapped on local fitness peaks, smaller populations can follow more stochastic evolutionary paths and thus locate higher fitness peaks.
Conceivably, as well as contributing to a programmed pro-differentiation/anti-self-renewal tumor suppressor function, DNMT3a might also promote chromostasis to restrict more stochastic epigenetic variation and plasticity in HSCs.
In the present study, wavelet transform is suggested for analysis of geomagnetic data because such methods allow detection of several interesting deterministic and more stochastic features in the time series of solar activity indicators (Lundstedt et al. [2005]).
We note that the mitochondrial genome displays a geographic pattern of introgression similar to the Y chromosome, though weaker and more stochastic.
The lack of correlation between genetic and morphological distances in blunt-snouted lenok may be due to the fact that they exist in smaller and more fragmented populations, which would result in higher genetic drift and more stochastic evolutionary change.
However, at the same time the small populations will follow more stochastic adaptive trajectories [ 14], and this increases their ability to explore the more distant fitness landscape.
Future studies should address uncertainties as more evidence becomes available and areas identified in this analysis as important for further work (e.g., outbreak response strategies), and consider more stochastic iterations as needed.
This illustrates the trade-off between fast, mostly deterministic adaptation with the potential of becoming stuck on local peaks for large populations, and slower, more stochastic evolutionary trajectories that provide a chance to avoid becoming stuck on local peaks for small populations.
In contrast, a smaller population size allows for more stochastic trajectories on the fitness landscape, and this can occasionally lead to higher fitness peaks.
