EVOLUTIONARY CONSEQUENCES OF SPIRAL WAVES IN A HOST PARASITOID SYSTEM

In a spatial model host-parasitoid interactions have been shown to gen erate spiral waves and spiral chaos. We demonstrate that this spatial self-structuring has far-reaching evolutionary consequences. It turns out that the selection of mutants is determined by the physical proces s of expansion of a faster rotating spiral. This selection at the leve l of entire spirals replaces selection at the level of individuals. Th is change in the level of selection leads to selection for less effici ent parasitoids.