  The galaxy population in rich local galaxy clusters shows a ratio of one
quarter elliptical galaxies, two quarters S0 galaxies, and one quarter spiral
galaxies. Observations of clusters at redshift 0.5 show a perspicuously
different ratio, the dominant galaxy type are spiral galaxies with a fraction
of two quarters while the number of S0 galaxies decreases to a fraction of one
quarter (Dressler et al.1997). This shows an evolution of the galaxy population
in clusters since redshift0.5 and it has been suspected that galaxy
transformation processes during the infall into a cluster are responsible for
this change. These could be merging, starburst or ram-pressure stripping. We
use our evolutionary synthesis models to describe various possible effects of
those interactions on the star formation of spiral galaxies infalling into
clusters. We study the effects of starbursts of various strengths as well as of
the truncation of star formation at various epochs on the color and luminosity
evolution of model galaxies of various spectral types. As a first application
we present the comparison of our models with observed properties of the local
S0 galaxy population to constrain possible S0 formation mechanisms in clusters.
Application to other types of galaxies is planned for the future.
