Statistical physics model of an evolving population

There are many possible approaches by a theoretical physicist to problems of biological evolution. Some focus on physically interesting features, like the self-organized criticality (P. Bak, K. Sneppen, Phys. Rev. Lett 71 (1993); N. Vadewalle, M. Ausloos, Physica D 90 (1996) 262). Others put on more effort taking into account factors considered by biologists to be important in determining one or another aspect of biological evolution (D. Derrida, P.G. Higgs, J. Phys. A 24 (1991) L985; I. Mróz, A. P kalski, K. Sznajd-Weron, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76 (1996) 3025; A. P kalski, Physica A 265 (1999) 255). The intrinsic complexity of the problem enforces nevertheless drastic simplifications. Certain consolation may come from the fact that the mathematical models used by biologists themselves are quite often even more “coarse grained”.