Games Embedded in Life

2020 ◽  
pp. 203-230
Author(s):  
John M. McNamara ◽  
Olof Leimar
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Dynamic Games ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
State Dependent ◽  
Mean Lifetime ◽  
Payoff Structure

Many games focus on a part of the life of an organism. The payoff structure of the game then represents how the game affects fitness proxies such as mean lifetime reproductive success, which are concerned with the whole of the life of the organism. However, the traditional approach of specifying payoffs in advance of the analysis of the game can lead to inconsistencies because the rest of the life of an individual is not fixed but depends on what happens in the game. This chapter concerns this issue, identifying situations in which a more holistic approach is needed. A series of models illustrates links between the current situation and a lifetime perspective. When each of two parents must decide whether to care for their common young or desert, the payoff for desertion depends on the solution of the game and cannot be specified in advance. A game in which two males contest for a female illustrates the approach that must be taken if this game can be repeated at a later time. A game in which individuals must possess territories in order to breed is developed that highlights various interdependencies and, by incorporating learning, advances the understanding of owner–intruder interactions. The interdependencies in state-dependent dynamic games are also illustrated with a model in which individuals must trade off the risks of starvation and predation in a situation in which the choice of the best foraging habitat depends on the number of other animals that use that habitat.

scholarly journals Attentive red squirrel mothers have faster-growing pups and higher lifetime reproductive success

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E Westrick ◽  
Ryan W Taylor ◽  
Stan Boutin ◽  
Jeffrey E Lane ◽  
Andrew G McAdam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Maternal Care ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Red Squirrels ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Offspring Growth ◽  
North American Red Squirrels ◽  
Care Behavior

AbstractParental investment theory predicts that observed levels of parental care afforded to offspring are set by the benefits (to offspring quality and survival) relative to the costs (to parental survival or future reproduction). Although difficult to document in mammals, there is often substantial individual-variation in the amount of parental care within species. We measured the impact of individual variation in maternal care (“attentiveness” towards offspring or maternal motivation) on offspring growth and survival in a wild population of North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). We used latency to return to pups following a nest intrusion as a measure of maternal attentiveness to pups. We found this behavior to be repeatable within individuals suggesting this behavior is a personality trait or a “maternal style”. In this population, postnatal growth rate is important for pup overwinter survival. Pups from large litters grew faster if they had a highly attentive mother, indicating that maternal care behavior can mitigate the trade-off between litter size and offspring growth and potentially improve survival of pups. Additionally, more attentive mothers had slightly higher lifetime reproductive success than less attentive mothers. These results highlight important fitness effects of having a highly attentive mother and show that maternal care behavior can alter a fundamental life history trade-off between offspring quantity and quality.Lay SummaryIt pays to be attentive to your pups as a squirrel mom. In a long-term study of a wild population of North American red squirrels, we observed repeatable individual variation in maternal attentiveness towards offspring. Mothers who returned faster to pups following a nest intrusion produced faster growing pups and were able to produce larger fast-growing litters. Over their entire lifetime, attentive mothers also had more offspring recruit into the breeding population.

Energy allocation to reproduction and maintenance in mountain bluebirds (Sialia currucoides): a food supplementation experiment

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 2352-2357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick F. J. Garcia ◽  
Marilyn S. Merkle ◽  
Robert M. R. Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Additional Energy ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Sialia Currucoides ◽  
Nestling Period ◽  
Mountain Bluebirds

Mountain bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) were supplemented with food during the nestling period to assess the trade-off between allocation of energy to parental self-maintenance and investment in offspring. Three treatment groups were established, with pairs of birds receiving 0 (control), 9 (small), or 18% (large) of the estimated daily energy requirements of both parents and their brood. Unsupplemented adult females lost an average of 3 g during the nestling period, while both supplemented groups maintained their body mass at approximately 33 g. Adult males in all three groups maintained their mass at approximately 30.5 g. Nestlings in both supplemented groups fledged with heavier masses than did those in the control group. Those receiving the large supplement also grew faster. Food appears to limit the lifetime reproductive success of mountain bluebirds. Adult females allocated additional energy to self-maintenance rather than to increased investment in current offspring. This result was not seen in males. We conclude that our results demonstrate a trade-off between investment in current versus future components of reproductive success.

scholarly journals Parents face quantity–quality trade-offs between reproduction and investment in offspring in Iceland

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 160087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Francis Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Evolutionary Conflict ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Fitness Consequences ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Primary Impact

How to optimally allocate time, energy and investment in an effort to maximize one's reproductive success is a fundamental problem faced by all organisms. This effort is complicated when the production of each additional offspring dilutes the total resources available for parental investment. Although a quantity–quality trade-off between producing and investing in offspring has long been assumed in evolutionary biology, testing it directly in humans is difficult, partly owing to the long generation time of our species. Using data from an Icelandic genealogy (Íslendingabók) over two centuries, I address this issue and analyse the quantity–quality trade-off in humans. I demonstrate that the primary impact of parents on the fitness of their children is the result of resources and or investment, but not genes. This effect changes significantly across time, in response to environmental conditions. Overall, increasing reproduction has negative fitness consequences on offspring, such that each additional sibling reduces an individual's average lifespan and lifetime reproductive success. This analysis provides insights into the evolutionary conflict between producing and investing in children while also shedding light on some of the causes of the demographic transition.

The Breeding System of the Three-Spined Stickleback, Gasterosteus Aculeatus (Forma Leiura) With Reference To Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Nesting Activity

Behaviour ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 126 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 97-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sechi Mori
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Small Stream ◽  
Nest Distribution ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Sexual Characteristics ◽  
Individual Success

Abstract1) The breeding succes of three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L., forma leiura) males in a small stream of the Tsuya River, Gifu Prefecture, Central Japan, was studied with reference to timing of nesting initiation, use of space for nesting and social interactions. The observations were made almost daily during March to early July 1988 along the shore at a distance of 1-2 m from the fish and nests. 2) All the males in an enclosed study pool were individually marked (99 males). Furthermore, a total of 67 females were marked and observed weekly. The males were individually observed and their agonistic, courtship and parental behaviour as well as their reproductive success were quantified. Reproductive success of individual male was measured as the number of nests built, the number of successful nests, the number of hatched fry per nest. Nest sites were categorized in six types (A-F) on the basis of the proportion of vegetation cover around the nest and distance from the shore. 3) Body size and environmental factors (water temperature, water depth, changes in water level) were not correlated with reproductive success. Flooding was not a major cause of unsuccessful nesting. The brightness of nuptial colouration at the onset of breeding correlated significantly with individual success. Individual variation in the development of secondary sexual characteristics such as a nuptial colouration may have an important consequence for the lifetime reproductive success of the individuals. There was no relationship between fish density and reproductive success. 4) All males that nested more than once had begun breeding early in the season. The sooner a male started nest-building, the more opportunities he had to complete breeding cycles. 5) After an unsuccessful nest, males were significantly more likely to move their nest sites than after a successful nest. The subsequent nesting cycle was not always successful. 6) There was variation in nest-sitc location. The spatial pattern of nest distribution was strongly related to the temporal pattern, because the first males which settled, more often built their nests at sites along the shore where the nest was covered on one or two sides by vegetation. The location of nest site was significantly correlated with reproductive success. When males nested in partly concealed places along the shore, they could sometimes obtain a high reproductive success irrespective of the date of breeding initiation. Thus, reproductive success was largely determined by the timing of nest-building and nest position.

scholarly journals Estimating Dynamic Games of Electoral Competition to Evaluate Term Limits in US Gubernatorial Elections

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (7) ◽  
pp. 1824-1857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Sieg ◽  
Chamna Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Dynamic Games ◽  
Electoral Competition ◽  
Term Limits ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Political Candidates ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Perfect Monitoring ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

This paper shows how to identify and estimate, using standard semi-parametric techniques, a class of dynamic games with perfect monitoring, that have been at the frontier of recent research in political economy. The empirical analysis provides novel quantitative insights into the trade-off that voters face between ideology and ability, the differences in ability and ideology among parties and states, and the differences in preferences between political candidates and voters. We analyze the consequences of term limits and quantify their relative importance. Specifically, we characterize conditions under which term limits improve voters' welfare. (JEL C57, C73, D72)

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