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John M McNamara

Publications and source records attributed to John M McNamara.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Cooperation should not be assumed.

Evolutionary game theory provides a framework for explaining social interactions, including those between males and females. In a recent article, Roughgarden et al. discuss a new approach to sexual selection based on cooperative game theory and argue that cooperation rather than competition is fundamental in interactions between the sexes. However, compelling reasons for adopting this approach are not given and the authors do not adopt it consistently. We argue that non-cooperative game theory provides an adequate basis for understanding sexual selection, but that further work is needed to produce realistic models. We agree with Roughgarden and colleagues that bargaining is an important aspect of social interactions, but this is not a novel claim. Bargaining does not require the assumption of cooperation and does not necessarily lead to it.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed2005

The hidden cost of information in collective foraging.

Many animals nest or roost colonially. At the start of a potential foraging period, they may set out independently or await information from returning foragers. When should such individuals act independently and when should they wait for information? In a social insect colony, for example, information transfer may greatly increase a recruit's probability of finding food, and it is commonly assumed that this will always increase the colony's net energy gain. We test this assumption with a mathematical model. Energy gain by a colony is a function both of the probability of finding food sources and of the duration of their availability. A key factor is the ratio of pro-active foragers to re-active foragers. When leaving the nest, pro-active foragers search for food independently, whereas re-active foragers rely on information from successful foragers to find food. Under certain conditions, the optimum strategy is totally independent (pro-active) foraging because potentially valuable information that re-active foragers may gain from successful foragers is not worth waiting for. This counter-intuitive outcome is remarkably robust over a wide range of parameters. It occurs because food sources are only available for a limited period. Our study emphasizes the importance of time constraints and the analysis of dynamics, not just steady states, to understand social insect foraging.

Animal Communication↗
PubMed2005

A theoretical investigation of the effect of predators on foraging behaviour and energy reserves.

Data show that when small birds are exposed to a model of a predator, their body mass may either increase or decrease. Although attempts have been made to explain the data using previous models, these models are based on a constant level of predation and hence are not appropriate for making predictions about the response of a bird to the sight of a predator. We have developed a novel model that includes encounters between a bird and potential predators. We show that, depending on the biology of the predator, optimal body mass may either increase or decrease. The model also makes predictions about the foraging behaviour of the bird after it has seen a predator.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Information and its use by animals in evolutionary ecology.

Information is a crucial currency for animals from both a behavioural and evolutionary perspective. Adaptive behaviour relies upon accurate estimation of relevant ecological parameters; the better informed an individual, the better it can develop and adjust its behaviour to meet the demands of a variable world. Here, we focus on the burgeoning interest in the impact of ecological uncertainty on adaptation, and the means by which it can be reduced by gathering information, from both 'passive' and 'responsive' sources. Our overview demonstrates the value of adopting an explicitly informational approach, and highlights the components that one needs to develop useful approaches to studying information use by animals. We propose a quantitative framework, based on statistical decision theory, for analysing animal information use in evolutionary ecology. Our purpose is to promote an integrative approach to studying information use by animals, which is itself integral to adaptive animal behaviour and organismal biology.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

If animals know their own fighting ability, the evolutionarily stable level of fighting is reduced.

We consider a version of the Hawk-Dove game in which an animal knows its own fighting ability but not the ability of its opponent. For this game at evolutionary stability there is a critical level of ability such that animals with ability greater than the critical level play Hawk and animals with ability below the critical level play Dove. We define the level of fighting to be the probability of a Hawk-Hawk fight when two opponents meet. We show that even if an animal does not know the ability of its opponent, knowing its own ability results in a lower level of fighting at evolutionary stability than is found in the standard Hawk-Dove game in which there are no differences in ability or abilities are not known.

Aggression↗
PubMed2004

Conflict between parents over care.

Conflict between parents over care of young arises when the young benefit from the effort of both parents, but each parent suffers a reduction in future reproductive success as a consequence of its own effort. Here, we review existing models and argue that they fail to capture many important components of parental conflict. For example, we lack adequate models of how a parent should compensate for a reduction in the effort of its mate. These models should incorporate the process by which decisions are reached. Recent theory suggests that a parent benefits by handicapping itself, and more experimental and theoretical work on this topic could be fruitful. We also need more theoretical work on attractiveness that incorporates consistent interactions between males and females.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

When to parasitize? A dynamic optimization model of reproductive strategies in a cooperative breeder.

We consider a cooperatively breeding group and find the optimal pattern of reproductive parasitism by a subordinate helper as a function of its body size, and hence the share of reproduction obtained by the subordinate. We develop the model for the social system of the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher but the general framework is also applicable to other cooperative systems. In addition to behaving cooperatively by sharing tasks, sexually mature male cichlid helpers may directly parasitize the reproduction of dominant breeders in the group. We investigate the relative influence of life history and behavioural variables including growth, parasitism capacity, future reproductive fitness benefits and costs, relatedness and expulsion risk on the optimal reproductive strategy of subordinates. In a detailed analysis of the parameter space we show that a male helper should base its decision to parasitize primarily on an increase in expulsion risk resulting from reproductive parasitism (punishment), intra-group relatedness and the parasitism capacity. If expulsion risk is high then helpers should not parasitize reproduction at medium body size but should parasitize either when small or large.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Variation in behaviour promotes cooperation in the Prisoner's Dilemma game.

The Prisoner's Dilemma game is widely used to investigate how cooperation between unrelated individuals can evolve by natural selection. In this game, each player can either 'cooperate' (invest in a common good) or 'defect' (exploit the other's investment). If the opponent cooperates, you get R if you cooperate and T if you defect. If the opponent defects, you get S if you cooperate and P if you defect. Here T > R > 0 and P > S, so that 'defect' is the best response to any action by the opponent. Thus in a single play of the game, each player should defect. In our game, a fixed maximum number of rounds of the Prisoner's Dilemma game is played against the same opponent. A standard argument based on working backwards from the last round shows that defection on all rounds is the only stable outcome. In contrast, we show that if extrinsic factors maintain variation in behaviour, high levels of co-operation are stable. Our results highlight the importance of extrinsic variability in determining the outcome of evolutionary games.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed2004

The effects of background mortality on optimal reproduction in a seasonal environment.

We consider optimal annual routines of reproductive behaviour in a seasonal environment. In our model the condition of the organism is adversely affected by hard work, but can recover during easy periods. Our analysis concentrates on the effects of background mortality (i.e., mortality that cannot be avoided) on the optimal strategy and how often an organism following this strategy breeds. In particular, we are concerned with whether reproduction occurs at specific times of year (entrained to the annual cycle), and if so then how many reproductive bouts occur per year. We find that an increase in background mortality can have various effects. If the animal is entrained to the annual cycle and has one breeding attempt per year, then breeding tends to occur earlier and there may be two breeding attempts per season. Another possible outcome is that breeding is no longer entrained. If the animal is entrained but sometimes skips reproduction so that it does not breed every year, then an increase in mortality may make it more likely that the animal breeds every year. We show that as background mortality increases the resultant increase in the frequency of breeding contributes to the increase in annual mortality. We also explore the effects of mortality on the timing of reproduction within a year, highlighting the tension between the interests of the parent and that of the young.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

The effect of foraging parameters on the probability that a dive is successful.

In this paper, we investigate the foraging decisions of an animal that dives to obtain its food. It might seem reasonable to use the probability that the diver is successful in any dive as an indicator of habitat quality. We use a dynamic model of optimal prey choice to show that this interpretation of diving success is not generally valid. In particular, we show that diving success is not directly proportional to the overall rate of gain that can be achieved in an environment. Furthermore, some environmental factors can have a non-monotonic effect on the probability of success. For example, as the travel time to the foraging area increases, the probability of success may first increase and then decrease. We point out that the same conclusions are likely to apply in the context of mate choice, i.e. the probability of getting a mate may not be an indicator of the quality of the environment in terms of reproductive success.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Quantifying male attractiveness.

Genetic models of sexual selection are concerned with a dynamic process in which female preference and male trait values coevolve. We present a rigorous method for characterizing evolutionary endpoints of this process in phenotypic terms. In our phenotypic characterization the mate-choice strategy of female population members determines how attractive females should find each male, and a population is evolutionarily stable if population members are actually behaving in this way. This provides a justification of phenotypic explanations of sexual selection and the insights into sexual selection that they provide. Furthermore, the phenotypic approach also has enormous advantages over a genetic approach when computing evolutionarily stable mate-choice strategies, especially when strategies are allowed to be complex time-dependent preference rules. For simplicity and clarity our analysis deals with haploid mate-choice genetics and a male trait that is inherited phenotypically, for example by vertical cultural transmission. The method is, however, easily extendible to other cases. An example illustrates that the sexy son phenomenon can occur when there is phenotypic inheritance of the male trait.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Assessing predation risk: optimal behaviour and rules of thumb.

We look at a simple model in which an animal makes behavioural decisions over time in an environment in which all parameters are known to the animal except predation risk. In the model there is a trade-off between gaining information about predation risk and anti-predator behaviour. All predator attacks lead to death for the prey, so that the prey learns about predation risk by virtue of the fact that it is still alive. We show that it is not usually optimal to behave as if the current unbiased estimate of the predation risk is its true value. We consider two different ways to model reproduction; in the first scenario the animal reproduces throughout its life until it dies, and in the second scenario expected reproductive success depends on the level of energy reserves the animal has gained by some point in time. For both of these scenarios we find results on the form of the optimal strategy and give numerical examples which compare optimal behaviour with behaviour under simple rules of thumb. The numerical examples suggest that the value of the optimal strategy over the rules of thumb is greatest when there is little current information about predation risk, learning is not too costly in terms of predation, and it is energetically advantageous to learn about predation. We find that for the model and parameters investigated, a very simple rule of thumb such as 'use the best constant control' performs well.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Credible threats and promises.

We consider various implications of information about the other player in two-player evolutionary games. A simple model of desertion shows that information about the partner's behaviour can be disadvantageous, and highlights the idea of credible threats. We then discuss the general issue of whether the partner can convince the focal player that it will behave in a specific way, i.e. whether the focal player can make credible threats or promises. We show that when desertion decisions depend on reserves, a player can manipulate its reserves so as to create a credible threat of desertion. We then extend previous work on the evolution of trust and commitment, discussing conditions under which it is advantageous to assume that a partner will behave in a certain way even though it is not in its best interest.

Animal Communication↗
PubMed2002

The sexual selection continuum.

The evolution of mate choice for genetic benefits has become the tale of two hypotheses: Fisher's 'run-away' and 'good genes', or viability indicators. These hypotheses are often pitted against each other as alternatives, with evidence that attractive males sire more viable offspring interpreted as support for good genes and with a negative or null relationship between mating success of sons and other components of fitness interpreted as favouring the Fisher process. Here, we build a general model of female choice for indirect benefits that captures the essence of both the 'Fisherian' and 'good-genes' models. All versions of our model point to a single process that favours female preference for males siring offspring of high reproductive value. Enhanced mating success and survival are therefore equally valid genetic benefits of mate choice, but their relative importance varies depending on female choice costs. The relationship between male attractiveness and survival may be positive or negative, depending on life-history trade-offs and mating skew. This relationship can change sign in response to increased costliness of choice or environmental change. Any form of female preference is subject to self-reinforcing evolution, and any relationship (or lack thereof) between male display and offspring survival is inevitably an indicator of offspring reproductive values. Costly female choice can be maintained with or without higher offspring survival.

Alleles↗
PubMed2002

A self-consistent approach to paternity and parental effort.

We review the relationship between optimal parental effort and paternity, and emphasize the need for a self-consistent approach. A fundamental consistency condition is what we refer to as the conservation of paternity. Every offspring has exactly one father. If a male has a paternity of less than unity, then another male or other males must have gained the lost paternity. Our approach also emphasizes that paternity emerges as the result of interactions between males and females. From this viewpoint, if paternity changes it is because some aspect of the interaction changes, and the correlation between effort and paternity depends on the aspect that has changed. This has implications for comparative analyses of paternity. The conclusions that are drawn about the correlation between effort and paternity within a population depend on, for example, the types of male in the population and how their abilities are correlated. It is easy to construct models that predict negative correlations between effort and paternity.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2002

A theoretical analysis of the energetic costs and consequences of parental care decisions.

Should a parent care for its young or abandon them before they reach independence? We consider parental care behaviour as an adaptive decision, involving trade-offs between current and future reproduction. The condition of the parent is expected to influence these trade-offs. Using a dynamic programming model we explore how changes in the levels of energetic reserves, and time in the season, determine changes in parental care decisions. The novel feature of our model is that we have included the possibility of remating within the current breeding season in a consistent manner by explicitly modelling the behaviour of unmated animals. We show that there may be several fluctuations in the average duration of care during the breeding season. We also show that, because of the dependence of parental care behaviour on both the condition of the parent and time during the breeding season, changing some of the costs of care may increase the duration of care during one part of the season and decrease it at another. The model also shows that the conditions prevailing for animals with dependent offspring can affect the way in which an unmated animal behaves. For example, the behaviour of unmated animals may change to compensate (partly) for increases in the costs of raising offspring, which are produced at a later date (for example, by increasing the duration of foraging between breeding attempts). Overall, the model provides a good framework for understanding how various ecological and life-history variables should influence parental care behaviour during a breeding season.

Age Factors↗