How residency duration affects the outcome of a territorial contest: Complementary game-theoretic models

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Game Theory
• Behavioral Ecology
• Animal Conflict Resolution

Background:

• Territoriality is a common strategy in nature.
• Ambiguity in establishing ownership can lead to conflict.
• Residency duration is often linked to ownership claims.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model the evolutionary consequences of ambiguous ownership claims.
• To investigate how residency duration influences territorial disputes.
• To explain empirical observations of residency effects in conflict.

Main Methods:

• Developed two game-theoretic models (Model A and Model B).
• Model A: Territory value increases with residency duration.
• Model B: Interloper's self-belief increases with residency duration.

Main Results:

• Model A: Increased territory value with residency enhances resident's fighting motivation and success.
• Model B: Increased interloper confidence with residency explains fighting persistence.
• Residency duration alone can resolve disputes without other priority effects.

Conclusions:

• Game theory models explain conflict dynamics when ownership information is incomplete.
• Residency duration is a key factor in resolving territorial disputes.
• Findings align with long-observed empirical patterns in animal behavior.