Representative evolvability snapshots in the abstract model.

<p>A heatmap of evolvability over the space of niches is shown for representative runs of the Control and Extinction Random conditions at 2,000 and 15,0000 generations. Lighter shades indicate higher evolvability, with the same scale across all four snapshots. By 2,000 generations, the Control condition has nearly saturated all the niches (a). From the saturation point to the 15,000 generation snapshot (b), the Control condition evolves only through drift. In contrast, in this particular run of the Extinction Random condition, at 2,000 generations (c), evolution can be seen recovering from an extinction event. In particular, five clusters of organisms are spreading at different speeds (relative to their evolvability) through the space of niches. In this way more evolvable lineages will spread through more niches and will be more likely to persist across extinctions. At 15,000 generations (d), the Extinction Random condition exhibits higher evolvability than the Control. The conclusion is that extinction events lead to higher evolvability.