Evolutionary game theoretic models with underlying genetic architecture

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Arne Traulsen, since 11/2013
• Subject Area: Mathematics
• Term: from 2012 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 221673204

Evolutionary game theory has been traditionally dealt with in a deterministic setting, e.g. in tenns of the replicator dynamics. Finite populations introduce demographic stochasticity which has been analysed in great detail in the past few years. This has led to numerous new results and a closer connection to models from population genetics. While population genetics has for a long time used ideas such as the coalescent, this kind of concepts have only been recently employed in evolutionary game theory to calculate the average frequencies of strategies in equilibrium in structured and unstructured populations. Population genetics pays detailed attention to the intricacies of the genetic mechanisms such as mutation, recombination, multiple ploidy levels, genetic conflicts etc. Evolutionary game theory typically neglects such aspects. We propose to develop evolutionary game theory in this respect by including relevant properties such as diploid population which entails including recombination and possible genetic conflict situations. On the other hand, results from evolutionary game theory such as the one third rule, its generalization to many players and the inclusion of multiple strategies can be transferred to population genetics. The average frequencies of alleles in equilibrium under frequency dependent selection with linear ornonlinear interactions between alleles can be approached from a game theoretic perspective. Another point of interest is the maintenance of polymorphisms in alleles. In evolutionary game theoretic sense this corresponds to mixed equilibrium states. All of this exchange of results between two areas is possible when a terminological link between the two fields is well established.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1590: Probabilistic Structures in Evolution
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Chaitanya Gokhale, until 11/2013