Evolutionarily stable strategy concept

[Nemoclay]

Hi,

 

I would like to know why the evolutionarily stable strategy concept is important in behavioral ecology ?

Thank you for your help

[hypervalent_iodine]

Is this a homework question?

[Nemoclay]

Is this a homework question?

 

No, I'm watching exam's annals and this question was asked in the past. And I don't find really good elements of response..

 

Ps: Sorry if there are some grammatical mistakes, english is not my mother tongue.

Edited January 5, 2013 by Nemoclay

[ecoli]

ESS is based on game theory: the most stable strategies are likely to be selected.

 

Consider the case of a pathogen infecting a host. Being highly virulent is a bad/unstable strategy for a pathogen that wants to use the human body to replicate because if the host gets killed, the pathogen cannot replicate. Similarly, a hyperactive immune response to pathogen is bad from the host perspective because sustained immune responses can result in tissue damage, autoimmunity and death of the host. Therefore it is in the best interest of both parties to adapt to stable relationships; the host gives up some of its fitness to the pathogen, the pathogen gives up some of its virulence (and thus replication potential) both both organisms get to persist.

 

This kind of thing is pretty common in biology, particularly in infectious diseases.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17943121

 

The reason ESS probably evolve in biology (unlike in classical game theory where its people making decisions) is that cheaters get punished when destabilizing systems reaching a new 'equilibrium' (death) and therefore only stable equilibria survive.

 

 

One interesting side effect is that modern medicine and social behaviors (air travel, etc) could be perturbing these stable equilibria in unintended ways, resulting in new emerging disease.