Commentary on Lande-Arnold Analysis

Abstract

A solution to the problem of estimating fitness landscapes was proposed by Lande and Arnold (1983). Another solution, which avoids problematic aspects of the Lande-Arnold methodology, was proposed by Shaw, Geyer, Wagenius, Hangelbroek, and Etterson (2008). This technical report goes through Lande-Arnold theory in detail paying careful attention to problematic aspects. The only completely new material is a theoretical analysis of when the best quadratic approximation to a fitness landscape, which is what the Lande-Arnold method estimates, is a good approximation to the actual fitness landscape.