source-sink dynamics
Climate models, Neandertals, and Denisovans
A new paper on biogeography of Neandertals and Denisovans raises ideas about the interactions of these groups.
![A Neandertal-looking person dressed in animal skins lifting a stick and looking at a misty sunrise on snow.](/content/images/size/w1460/2022/05/neandertal-snow-photoshop-denys-nevoshai-background-jim-linwood-flickr-foreground.jpg)
Should we be surprised if Neandertals, Denisovans, and modern humans didn’t form stable hybrid zones?
A geneticist asks why we don't see more persisting hybrid populations, and I find an answer in the theory of population source-sink dynamics.
![A Neandertal artist's reconstruction at the Neanderthal Museum, wearing a suit and holding a stone tool.](/content/images/size/w1460/2022/01/neander-clooney-mettmann-2014.jpg)
Did Neandertals evolve in a population sink?
The dynamics of adaptation in shrinking populations may help understand how many ancient populations evolved.