Evolutionsbiologie; spieltheoretische Untersuchung zur Evolution von Paarungssystemen
Final Report Abstract
Understanding the evolution of animal mating systems is a major theoretical challenge, and lies at the heart of many topical problems in behavioural ecology. Evolutionary game theory provides a tool for analysing situations where the adaptive value of a phenotypic trait depends on traits expressed by other members of the population, as is frequently the case in the evolution of mating systems. During my fellowship, I have used game theory to study the evolutionary causes and consequences of various aspects of reproductive and social behaviour. In particular, I have characterised conditions for the evolution of (i) male care for offspring; (ii) optimal resource allocation regarding a trade-off between ejaculate production versus gaining matings; (iii) male monogamy; (iv) mate choice for heterozygous mates; and (v) cooperativeness in combination with choosiness.
Publications
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2007. Stability and value of male care for offspring - is it worth only half the trouble? Biology Letters 3(3): 234-236
Fromhage, L., J. M. McNamara, and A. I. Houston
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2008. A model for the evolutionary maintenance of monogyny in spiders. Journal Of Theoretical Biology 250(3): 524-531
Fromhage, L., A. I. Houston, and J. M. McNamara
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2008. Sperm allocation strategies and female resistance: a unifying perspective. American Naturalist 172(1): 25-33
Fromhage, L., J. M. McNamara, and A. I. Houston
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2008. The coevolution of choosiness and cooperation. Nature 451: 189-192
McNamara, J. M., Z. Barta, L. Fromhage, and A. I. Houston
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2009. Evolution of mate choice for genome-wide heterozygosity. Evolution 63(3): 684-694
Fromhage, L., J. M. Reid, and H. Kokko
