Mating games: cultural evolution and sexual selection.

In this paper, we argue that mating games, a concept that denotes cultural practices characterized by a competitive element and an ornamental character, are essential drivers behind the emergence and maintenance of human cultural practices. In order to substantiate this claim, we sketch out the essential role of the game's players and audience, as well as the ways in which games can mature and turn into relatively stable cultural practices. After outlining the life phase of mating games - their emergence, rise, maturation, and possible eventual decline - we go on to argue that participation in these games (in each phase) does make sense from an adaptationist point of view. The strong version of our theory which proposes that all cultural practices are, or once were, mating games, allows us to derive a set of testable predictions for the fields of archaeology, economics, and psychology.competition; cultural evolution; evolutionary psychology; play; sexual selection; strategies; handicap; mates; play;

Lunar cycles of reproduction in the clown anemonefish Amphiprion percula: individual-level strategies and population-level patterns

Lunar cycles of reproduction are a widespread phenomenon in marine invertebrates and vertebrates. It is common practice to infer the adaptive value of this behavior based on the population level pattern. This practice may be flawed if individuals within the population are employing different reproductive strategies. Here, we capitalize on a long-term field study and a carefully controlled laboratory experiment of individually identifiable clown anemonefish, Amphiprion percula, to investigate the individual reproductive strategies underlying population-level patterns of reproduction. The field data reveal that A. percula exhibit a lunar cycle of reproduction at the population level. Further, the field data reveal that there is naturally occurring variation among individuals and within individuals in the number of times they reproduce per month. The laboratory experiment reveals that the number of times individuals reproduce per month is dependent on their food availability. Individuals are employing a conditional strategy, breeding once, twice or thrice per month, depending on resource availability. Breaking down the population level pattern by reproductive tactic, we show that each reproductive tactic has its own non-random lunar cycle of reproduction. Considering the adaptive value of these cycles, we suggest that all individuals, regardless of tactic, may avoid reproducing around the new moon. Further, individuals may avoid breeding in synchrony with each other, because of negative frequency dependent selection at the time of settlement. Most importantly, we conclude that determining what individuals are doing is a critical step toward understanding the adaptive value of lunar cycles of reproduction

Novelty Search in Competitive Coevolution

One of the main motivations for the use of competitive coevolution systems is their ability to capitalise on arms races between competing species to evolve increasingly sophisticated solutions. Such arms races can, however, be hard to sustain, and it has been shown that the competing species often converge prematurely to certain classes of behaviours. In this paper, we investigate if and how novelty search, an evolutionary technique driven by behavioural novelty, can overcome convergence in coevolution. We propose three methods for applying novelty search to coevolutionary systems with two species: (i) score both populations according to behavioural novelty; (ii) score one population according to novelty, and the other according to fitness; and (iii) score both populations with a combination of novelty and fitness. We evaluate the methods in a predator-prey pursuit task. Our results show that novelty-based approaches can evolve a significantly more diverse set of solutions, when compared to traditional fitness-based coevolution.Comment: To appear in 13th International Conference on Parallel Problem Solving from Nature (PPSN 2014

Use of noninvasive ‘bug-eggs’ to enable comparative inferences on genetic mating system with and without parental information: A study in a cattle egret colony

Colonial waterbirds such as herons, egrets and spoonbills exhibit ecological characteristics that could have promoted the evolution of conspecific brood parasitism and extra-pair copulation. However, an adequate characterization of the genetic mating systems of this avian group has been hindered by the lack of samples of elusive candidate parents which precluded conducting conventional parentage allocation tests. Here, we investigate the genetic mating system of the invasive cattle egret using hematophagous insects contained in fake eggs to collect blood from incubating adults in a wild breeding colony. We tested a protocol with a previously unused Neotropical Triatominae, Panstrongylus megistus, obtained blood samples from males and females in 31 nests built on trees, drew blood from 89 nestlings at those nests, and genotyped all samples at 14 microsatellite loci, including six new species-specific loci. We comparatively addressed the performance of parentage allocation versus kinship classification of nestlings to infer the genetic mating system of cattle egrets. In line with previous behavioral observations, we found evidence in support of a non-monogamous genetic mating system, including extra-pair paternity (EPP) and conspecific brood parasitism (CBP). Parentage allocation tests detected a higher percentage of nests with alternative reproductive tactics (EPP: 61.7%; CBP: 64.5%) than the kinship classification method (EPP: 50.0%; CBP: 43.3%). Overall, these results indicate that rates of alternative reproductive tactics inferred in the absence of parental genetic information could be underestimated and should be interpreted with caution. This study highlights the importance of incorporating samples from candidate parents to adequately determine the genetic mating system of a species. We expand knowledge on the reproductive tactics of colonial waterbirds, contributing novel data on the genetic mating system of the cattle egret, valuable for the design of management strategies for this invasive bird.Fil: Miño, Carolina Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; ArgentinaFil: Dantas de Souza, Elaine. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Moralez-Silva, Emmanuel. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Valdes, Talita Alvarenga. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Cortiço Corrêa Rodrigues, Vera Lúcia. Superintendencia de Controle de Endemias; BrasilFil: Del Lama, Sílvia Nassif. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; Brasi

Social Evolution: New Horizons

Cooperation is a widespread natural phenomenon yet current evolutionary thinking is dominated by the paradigm of selfish competition. Recent advanced in many fronts of Biology and Non-linear Physics are helping to bring cooperation to its proper place. In this contribution, the most important controversies and open research avenues in the field of social evolution are reviewed. It is argued that a novel theory of social evolution must integrate the concepts of the science of Complex Systems with those of the Darwinian tradition. Current gene-centric approaches should be reviewed and com- plemented with evidence from multilevel phenomena (group selection), the constrains given by the non-linear nature of biological dynamical systems and the emergent nature of dissipative phenomena.Comment: 16 pages 5 figures, chapter in forthcoming open access book "Frontiers in Ecology, Evolution and Complexity" CopIt-arXives 2014, Mexic

Constructing a General Theory of Life: The Dynamics of Human and Non-human Systems

The ultimate objective of theorists studying living systems is to construct a general theory of life that can explain and predict the dynamics of both human and nonhuman systems. Yet little progress has been made in this endeavour. Why? Because of the inappropriate methods adopted by complexity theorists. By assuming that the supply-side physics model – in which local interactions are said to give rise to the emergence of order and complexity – could be transferred either entirely (social physics) or partially (agent-based models, or ABMs) from the physical to the life sciences, we have distorted reality and, thereby, delayed the construction of a general dynamic theory of living systems. Is there a solution? Yes, but only if we abandon the deductive and analogical methods of complexity theorists and adopt the inductive method. With this approach it is possible to construct a realist and demand-side general dynamic theory, as in the case of the dynamic-strategy theory presented in this paper.complex living systems, unified theory, general theory of life, dynamics. Demand-side, methodology

A General Theory of Complex Living Systems: Exploring the Demand Side of Dynamics

complex living systems, unified theory, dynamics, general theory, demand-side, methodology

Understanding Computer Role-Playing Games: A Genre Analysis Based on Gameplay Features in Combat Systems

A game genre as diverse as that of computer role-playing games is difficult to overview. This poses challenges or both developers and researchers to position their work clearly within the genre. We present an overview of the genre based on clustering games with similar gameplay features. This allows a tracing of relations between subgenres through their gameplay, and connecting this to concrete game examples. The analysis was done through using gameplay design patterns to identify gameplay features and focused upon the combat systems in the games. The resulting cluster structure makes use of 321 patterns to create 37 different subgenre classifications based solely on gameplay features. In addition to the clusters, we identify four categories of patterns that help designers and researchers understand the combat systems in computer role-playing games