36 research outputs found
Eco-evolutionary dynamics of social dilemmas
Social dilemmas are an integral part of social interactions. Cooperative
actions, ranging from secreting extra-cellular products in microbial
populations to donating blood in humans, are costly to the actor and hence
create an incentive to shirk and avoid the costs. Nevertheless, cooperation is
ubiquitous in nature. Both costs and benefits often depend non-linearly on the
number and types of individuals involved -- as captured by idioms such as `too
many cooks spoil the broth' where additional contributions are discounted, or
`two heads are better than one' where cooperators synergistically enhance the
group benefit. Interaction group sizes may depend on the size of the population
and hence on ecological processes. This results in feedback mechanisms between
ecological and evolutionary processes, which jointly affect and determine the
evolutionary trajectory. Only recently combined eco-evolutionary processes
became experimentally tractable in microbial social dilemmas. Here we analyse
the evolutionary dynamics of non-linear social dilemmas in settings where the
population fluctuates in size and the environment changes over time. In
particular, cooperation is often supported and maintained at high densities
through ecological fluctuations. Moreover, we find that the combination of the
two processes routinely reveals highly complex dynamics, which suggests common
occurrence in nature.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figure
Repeatability of evolution on epistatic landscapes
Evolution is a dynamic process. The two classical forces of evolution are
mutation and selection. Assuming small mutation rates, evolution can be
predicted based solely on the fitness differences between phenotypes.
Predicting an evolutionary process under varying mutation rates as well as
varying fitness is still an open question. Experimental procedures, however, do
include these complexities along with fluctuating population sizes and
stochastic events such as extinctions. We investigate the mutational path
probabilities of systems having epistatic effects on both fitness and mutation
rates using a theoretical and computational framework. In contrast to previous
models, we do not limit ourselves to the typical strong selection, weak
mutation (SSWM)-regime or to fixed population sizes. Rather we allow epistatic
interactions to also affect mutation rates. This can lead to qualitatively
non-trivial dynamics. Pathways, that are negligible in the SSWM-regime, can
overcome fitness valleys and become accessible. This finding has the potential
to extend the traditional predictions based on the SSWM foundation and bring us
closer to what is observed in experimental systems
Evolutionary Multiplayer Games
Evolutionary game theory has become one of the most diverse and far reaching
theories in biology. Applications of this theory range from cell dynamics to
social evolution. However, many applications make it clear that inherent
non-linearities of natural systems need to be taken into account. One way of
introducing such non-linearities into evolutionary games is by the inclusion of
multiple players. An example is of social dilemmas, where group benefits could
e.g.\ increase less than linear with the number of cooperators. Such
multiplayer games can be introduced in all the fields where evolutionary game
theory is already well established. However, the inclusion of non-linearities
can help to advance the analysis of systems which are known to be complex, e.g.
in the case of non-Mendelian inheritance. We review the diachronic theory and
applications of multiplayer evolutionary games and present the current state of
the field. Our aim is a summary of the theoretical results from well-mixed
populations in infinite as well as finite populations. We also discuss examples
from three fields where the theory has been successfully applied, ecology,
social sciences and population genetics. In closing, we probe certain future
directions which can be explored using the complexity of multiplayer games
while preserving the promise of simplicity of evolutionary games.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, review pape
Mutualism and evolutionary multiplayer games: revisiting the Red King
Coevolution of two species is typically thought to favour the evolution of
faster evolutionary rates helping a species keep ahead in the Red Queen race,
where `it takes all the running you can do to stay where you are'. In contrast,
if species are in a mutualistic relationship, it was proposed that the Red King
effect may act, where it can be beneficial to evolve slower than the
mutualistic species. The Red King hypothesis proposes that the species which
evolves slower can gain a larger share of the benefits. However, the
interactions between the two species may involve multiple individuals. To
analyse such a situation, we resort to evolutionary multiplayer games. Even in
situations where evolving slower is beneficial in a two-player setting, faster
evolution may be favoured in a multiplayer setting. The underlying features of
multiplayer games can be crucial for the distribution of benefits. They also
suggest a link between the evolution of the rate of evolution and group size
Chaotic provinces in the kingdom of the Red Queen
The interplay between parasites and their hosts is found in all kinds of
species and plays an important role in understanding the principles of
evolution and coevolution. Usually, the different genotypes of hosts and
parasites oscillate in their abundances. The well-established theory of
oscillatory Red Queen dynamics proposes an ongoing change in frequencies of the
different types within each species. So far, it is unclear in which way Red
Queen dynamics persists with more than two types of hosts and parasites. In our
analysis, an arbitrary number of types within two species are examined in a
deterministic framework with constant or changing population size. This general
framework allows for analytical solutions for internal fixed points and their
stability. For more than two species, apparently chaotic dynamics has been
reported. Here we show that even for two species, once more than two types are
considered per species, irregular dynamics in their frequencies can be observed
in the long run. The nature of the dynamics depends strongly on the initial
configuration of the system; the usual regular Red Queen oscillations are only
observed in some parts of the parameter region
The pace of evolution across fitness valleys
How fast does a population evolve from one fitness peak to another? We study
the dynamics of evolving, asexually reproducing populations in which a certain
number of mutations jointly confer a fitness advantage. We consider the time
until a population has evolved from one fitness peak to another one with a
higher fitness. The order of mutations can either be fixed or random. If the
order of mutations is fixed, then the population follows a metaphorical ridge,
a single path. If the order of mutations is arbitrary, then there are many ways
to evolve to the higher fitness state. We address the time required for
fixation in such scenarios and study how it is affected by the order of
mutations, the population size, the fitness values and the mutation rate
Ecological Drivers of Community Cohesion
From protocellular to societal, networks of living systems are complex and multiscale. Discerning the factors that facilitate assembly of these intricate interdependencies using pairwise interactions can be nearly impossible. To facilitate a greater understanding, we developed a mathematical and computational model based on a synthetic four-strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae interdependent system. Specifically, we aimed to provide a greater understanding of how ecological factors influence community dynamics. By leveraging transiently structured ecologies, we were able to drive community cohesion. We show how ecological interventions could reverse or slow the extinction rate of a cohesive community. An interconnected system first needs to persist long enough to be a subject of natural selection. Our emulation of Darwinâs âwarm little pondsâ with an ecology governed by transient compartmentalization provided the necessary persistence. Our results reveal utility across scales of organization, stressing the importance of cyclic processes in major evolutionary transitions, engineering of synthetic microbial consortia, and conservation biology.journal articl
Synthetic Symbiosis under Environmental Disturbances
By virtue of complex ecologies, the behavior of mutualisms is challenging to study and nearly impossible to predict. However, laboratory engineered mutualistic systems facilitate a better understanding of their bare essentials. On the basis of an abstract theoretical model and a modifiable experimental yeast system, we explore the environmental limits of self-organized cooperation based on the production and use of specific metabolites. We develop and test the assumptions and stability of the theoretical model by leveraging the simplicity of an artificial yeast system as a simple model of mutualism. We examine how one-off, recurring, and permanent changes to an ecological niche affect a cooperative interaction and change the population composition of an engineered mutualistic system. Moreover, we explore how the cellular burden of cooperating influences the stability of mutualism and how environmental changes shape this stability. Our results highlight the fragility of mutualisms and suggest interventions, including those that rely on the use of synthetic biology.IMPORTANCE The power of synthetic biology is immense. Will it, however, be able to withstand the environmental pressures once released in the wild. As new technologies aim to do precisely the same, we use a much simpler model to test mathematically the effect of a changing environment on a synthetic biological system. We assume that the system is successful if it maintains proportions close to what we observe in the laboratory. Extreme deviations from the expected equilibrium are possible as the environment changes. Our study provides the conditions and the designer specifications which may need to be incorporated in the synthetic systems if we want such "ecoblocs" to survive in the wild
Consequences of combining sexâspecific traits
Males and females follow distinct life-history strategies that have co-evolved with several sex-specific traits. Higher investment into parental investment (PI) demands an increased lifespan. Thus, resource allocation toward an efficient immune system is mandatory. In contrast, resources allocated toward secondary sexual signals (ornamentation) may negatively correlate with investment into immunity and ultimately result in a shorter lifespan. Previous studies have addressed how resource allocation toward single sex-specific traits impacts lifetime reproductive success (LRS). However, the trade-offs between diverse sex-specific characteristics and their impact on LRS remain largely unassessed impeding our understanding of life-history evolution. We have designed a theoretical framework (informed by experimental data and evolutionary genetics) that explores the effects of multiple sex-specific traits and assessed how they influence LRS. From the individual sex-specific traits, we inferred the consequences at the population level by evaluating adult sex ratios (ASR). Our theory implies that sex-specific resource allocation toward the assessed traits resulted in a biased ASR. Our model focuses on the impact of PI, ornamentation, and immunity as causal to biased ASR. The framework developed herein can be employed to understand the combined impact of diverse sex-specific traits on the LRS and the eventual population dynamics of particular model systems
The business and pleasure of teeth: Dental tourism
In-vogue 21st century, the popular term globalization has definitely conjured a plethora of development, the economic surge, integrated corporate dental offices, and contemporary approaches to health-seeking behavior. Transnational medical travel, a heterogeneous phenomenon has gained attention recently as a strategy for patients to procure cost effective care of superior quality relative to that provided within their home countries. Dental tourism, a subset of medical tourism, involves individuals seeking dental care outside their local healthcare systems, coupled with a vacation. India, a country of continental proportions, has become a popular destination for foreign patients in recent times, particularly in dental care. Indiaâs accessibility and availability of quality assured and cost-effective dental treatment, amalgamated with its myriad hues of culture and heritage, has exponentially fostered the bloom of India in âdental tourism.â Steep costs, lack of health insurance and dental benefits are key factors pushing low-income western world families to obtain cross-country dental care. Dental Tourism companies and corporate dental chains are increasingly advertising âall inclusiveâ travel packages that include dental procedures, hotel room reservations, side trips to tourist attractions, and airline tickets to lure international clients. The objective of this scientific communication was to explore and address the social, ethical, economic, and legal dimensions of dental tourism in India. With current governmental activities in full throttle, the tide of dental tourism definitely envisages to boost the economy of the Indian Republic manifold. The future is not near. Itâs here