| Title: | Volatile Chemical Emission as a Weapon of Rearguard Action: A Game-Theoretic Model of Contest Behavior |
| Author(s): | Mesterton-Gibbons M; Dai Y; Goubault M; Hardy ICW; |
| Address: | "Department of Mathematics, Florida State University, 1017 Academic Way, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-4510, USA. mesterto@math.fsu.edu. Department of Mathematics, Florida State University, 1017 Academic Way, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-4510, USA. Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261 CNRS - Universite Francois-Rabelais de Tours, UFR des Sciences et Techniques, Parc de Grandmont, 37200, Tours, France. School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leics, LE12 5RD, UK" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11538-017-0335-9 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1522-9602 (Electronic) 0092-8240 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "We use a game-theoretic model to explore whether volatile chemical (spiroacetal) emissions can serve as a weapon of rearguard action. Our basic model explores whether such emissions serve as a means of temporary withdrawal, preventing the winner of the current round of a contest from translating its victory into permanent possession of a contested resource. A variant of this model explores an alternative possibility, namely, that such emissions serve as a means of permanent retreat, attempting to prevent a winner from inflicting costs on a fleeing loser. Our results confirm that the underlying logic of either interpretation of weapons of rearguard action is sound; however, empirical observations on parasitoid wasp contests suggest that the more likely function of chemical weapons is to serve as a means of temporary withdrawal. While our work is centered around the particular biology of contest behavior in parasitoid wasps, it also provides the first contest model to explicitly consider self-inflicted damage costs and thus responds to a recent call by empiricists for theory in this area" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Behavior, Animal/*physiology Competitive Behavior/physiology Escape Reaction/physiology *Game Theory Mathematical Concepts Models, Biological Volatile Organic Compounds/toxicity Wasps/physiology Goniozus Self-inflicted damage Spiroacetal;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineMesterton-Gibbons, Mike Dai, Yao Goubault, Marlene Hardy, Ian C W eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2017/09/07 Bull Math Biol. 2017 Nov; 79(11):2413-2449. doi: 10.1007/s11538-017-0335-9. Epub 2017 Sep 5" |
