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Cheating can stabilize cooperation in mutualisms.

Kevin R Foster1, Hanna Kokko

  • 1Laboratory of Ecological and Evolutionary Dynamics, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, 00014 Finland. kfoster@fas.harvard.edu

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|August 12, 2006
PubMed
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Cooperation in mutualisms is maintained by partner choice, but this choice can be unstable. Reintroducing variation, like less cooperative symbionts, paradoxically preserves partner choice and cooperation.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Ecology

Background:

  • Mutualisms, symbiotic relationships where both species benefit, face evolutionary challenges.
  • Maintaining cooperation is difficult due to selection favoring selfishness and cheating.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the co-evolution of cooperation and partner choice in a host-symbiont system.
  • To understand the stability of partner choice and its role in maintaining cooperation.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a theoretical model examining the interplay between a choosy host and its symbiont.
  • Analyzed the conditions under which cooperation and partner choice are evolutionarily stable.

Main Results:

  • Partner choice, while initially favored, often proves unstable because it reduces symbiont variation.

Related Experiment Videos

  • The selective incentive for partner choice erodes as symbiont variation decreases.
  • Reintroducing variation in symbiont cooperation each generation maintains partner choice.

    • Conclusions:

    • The presence of less cooperative individuals or 'cheaters' is crucial for maintaining partner choice.
    • Paradoxically, the existence of cheating can stabilize cooperation in mutualistic relationships.