[evo.theory] Reading this week: CHANGE TO THURSDAY 12:30

[Brett Calcott]

Hi all,

IMPORTANT: This week we are shifting to a different time. THURSDAY 12:30pm
in Seminar Room A, Coombs (through the main entrance, go right, left at the
first stairs). 

Warning: This week's reading is quite long -- you might not be able to do it
in the last 15 mins :) 


The Quarterly Review of Biology, June 2004, Vol. 79, No. 2

THE EVOLUTION OF COOPERATION

Joel L. Sachs
Ulrich G. Mueller
Thomas P. Wilcox
James J. Bull

Darwin recognized that natural selection could not favor a trait in one
species solely for the benefit of another species. The modern,
selfish-gene view of the world suggests that cooperation between
individuals, whether of the same species or different species, should be
especially vulnerable to the evolution of noncooperators. Yet,
cooperation is prevalent in nature both within and between species. What
special circumstances or mechanisms thus favor cooperation? Currently,
evolutionary biology offers a set of disparate explanations, and a
general framework for this breadth of models has not emerged. Here, we
offer a tripartite structure that links previously disconnected views of
cooperation. We distinguish three general models by which cooperation
can evolve and be maintained: (i) directed reciprocation- cooperation
with individuals who give in return; (ii) shared genes-cooperation with
relatives (e.g., kin selection); and (iii) byproduct
benefits-cooperation as an incidental consequence of selfish action.
Each general model is further subdivided. Several renowned examples of
cooperation that have lacked explanation until recently-plant-rhizobium
symbioses and bacteria-squid light organs-fit squarely within this
framework. Natural systems of cooperation often involve more than one
model, and a fruitful direction for future research is to understand how
these models interact to maintain cooperation in the long term.


Available here:

http://philrsss.anu.edu.au/~brett/evo.theory/evo_of_coop.pdf


Welcome all. 

--
Brett Calcott
Philosophy Program, RSSS, ANU
Canberra, ACT 0200, AUSTRALIA