The Moran Process and Evolution in Finite Populations

This talk will provide an introduction to the frequency-dependent Moran process as a model for stochastic evolution in finite populations. In particular, we will focus on the relationship between payoffs in underlying evolutionary games and the mapping between individuals' payoffs and their reproductive fitnesses in the Moran process. We will discuss the traditional linear fitness version of the Moran process, as well as the newer exponential fitness mapping and it's particularly nice properties. After outlining the standard tools for analysis of the Moran process, we will make use of these tools to explore the roles of assortment and kin selection in the evolution of cooperation.