Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
2007
Publication Source
Evolutionary Ecology Research
Volume
9
Issue
8
Start Page
1223
Last Page
1243
Abstract
Question: What is the adaptive significance of extra-pair parentage?
Theoretical approach:We view parentage as a ‘transaction currency’ for exchanges of ecological benefits. We develop a multi-player cooperative game, using the core and the Nash bargaining solution as solution concepts.
Model assumptions: Birds can negotiate about who pairs with whom. Parentage can be exchanged between individuals as a result of negotiations. Number of offspring fledged from a nest depends on the experience and situation of the social parents and not on their genes (i.e. only direct benefits, no genetic benefits).
Predictions: We predict extra-pair parentage to occur when individuals with higher breeding capability are paired to individuals with lower breeding capability. Social interactions between males are predicted to precede the occurrence of extra-pair paternity. We give an example experiment to test our model.
Recommended Citation
Akçay, E., & Roughgarden, J. (2007). Extra-Pair Parentage: A New Theory Based on Transactions in a Cooperative Game. Evolutionary Ecology Research, 9 (8), 1223-1243. Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/biology_papers/11
Included in
Behavior and Ethology Commons, Biology Commons, Population Biology Commons, Poultry or Avian Science Commons
Date Posted: 02 October 2015
This document has been peer reviewed.
Comments
At the time of publication, author Erol Akçay was affiliated with Stanford University. Currently, he is a faculty member at the Department of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania.