RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A Synthesis of Game Theory and Quantitative Genetic Models of Social Evolution
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.03.27.437341
DO 10.1101/2021.03.27.437341
A1 Joel W. McGlothlin
A1 Erol Akçay
A1 Edmund D. Brodie III
A1 Allen J. Moore
A1 Jeremy Van Cleve
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/03/28/2021.03.27.437341.abstract
AB Two popular approaches for modeling social evolution, evolutionary game theory and quantitative genetics, ask complementary questions but are rarely integrated. Game theory focuses on evolutionary outcomes, with models solving for evolutionarily stable equilibria, whereas quantitative genetics provides insight into evolutionary processes, with models predicting short-term responses to selection. Here we draw parallels between evolutionary game theory and interacting phenotypes theory, which is a quantitative genetic framework for understanding social evolution. First, we show how any evolutionary game may be translated into two quantitative genetic selection gradients, nonsocial and social selection, which may be used to predict evolutionary change from a single round of the game. We show that synergistic fitness effects may alter predicted selection gradients, causing changes in magnitude and sign as the population mean evolves. Second, we show how evolutionary games involving plastic behavioral responses to partners can be modeled using indirect genetic effects, which describe how trait expression changes in response to genes in the social environment. We demonstrate that repeated social interactions in models of reciprocity generate indirect effects and conversely, that estimates of parameters from indirect genetic effect models may be used to predict the evolution of reciprocity. We argue that a pluralistic view incorporating both theoretical approaches will benefit empiricists and theorists studying social evolution. We advocate the measurement of social selection and indirect genetic effects in natural populations to test the predictions from game theory, and in turn, the use of game theory models to aid in the interpretation of quantitative genetic estimates.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.