Abstract

Most biological systems can cope with some degree of variation of their conditions. The problem becomes more acute in the case of unpredictably varying environments. In some cases, it may be advantageous for a growing population to accept a reduction of its short-term reproductive success in exchange for long-term risk reduction. This phenomenon, called bet-hedging, protects individuals from potential damages associated with environmental variations. It is an important topic in biology which is associated with a number of phenomena such as species polymorphism, antibiotics resistance of bacteria or the resistance of cancer cells to anti-cancer drugs, or more generally to the phenomenon of adaptation. Bet-hedging is also a widely studied phenomenon in ecology. For instance, plants use it to delay germination as a form of insurance policy against potentially damaging environmental fluctuations. In this talk I will present some of the results of my ongoing research on bet-hedging in growing populations and on adaptation in systems with varying environments, developed during the past years.