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Mafia behaviour and the evolution of facultative virulence
J J Soler1, A P Møller, M Soler
1Departamento de Biología Animal y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Spain.
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|June 19, 1998
Summary
Organisms can enforce costly behaviors on others, akin to human mafia tactics. This study models how parasites use increasing resistance costs to manipulate hosts, revealing a coevolutionary dynamic.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Game theory
- Parasitology
Background:
- Organisms may enforce maladaptive behaviors on others to gain benefits.
- This enforcement, termed mafia behavior, is observed in various species interactions, including parasite-host relationships.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the evolution of mafia mechanisms in biological interactions.
- To propose a fuzzy logic model for host-parasite coevolutionary dynamics.
- To investigate the role of facultative parasite virulence in host defense strategies.
Main Methods:
- Development of a fuzzy logic model to simulate mafia behavior.
- Analysis of host-parasite coevolution, considering host defense and parasite virulence.
- Exploration of cost-benefit trade-offs in host resistance and parasite enforcement.
Main Results:
- The model demonstrates how parasites can exponentially increase the cost of host resistance.
- Parasite virulence can counteract host benefits, influencing host defense evolution.
- An optimal host defense level emerges in relation to facultative parasite virulence.
Conclusions:
- Mafia-like behavior, involving enforcement through escalating costs, is a plausible evolutionary mechanism in nature.
- Host-parasite coevolution can lead to a balance where hosts 'pay' parasites rather than mounting costly defenses.
- Facultative virulence, dependent on host response, may be a widespread strategy in biological systems.