Applications of game-theoretic concepts in biology (Q1063545)

For application of game-theoretic concepts in biology the element of ''rationality'' has to be replaced by the principle of natural selection. The payoff to the player is interpreted as degrees of Darwinian fitness which is measured in terms of reproductive success of a genetic type. Along this way the concept of an evolutionarily stable strategy plays the central role in biological game theory. This strategy and aspects of optimality and stability are discussed for different interactions between the actors in the ''struggles for existence'' which are modelled by the hawk-dove game, the root game, the sex ratio game, and games called shared nutrition, war of attrition, and prisoner's dilemma. These are genuine \(2\times 2\) games (2 players, 2 strategies). As mode of interaction between the actors - these may be fractions of a polymorphic population which use different strategies - not only competition but also cooperation may be game-theoretically modelled. This new perspective on cooperation between living organisms is a significant theoretical contribution of the game-theoretical approach in biology.