Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
sperm from the male and its subsequent transport in the female. These behavioural
studies are now inspiring studies at the molecular level of how sexual conflict leads to
rapid evolution of seminal proteins.
In developing a theory to explain dung fly copula durations, it has become apparent
that the same kind of analysis can be used for bumblebees sucking nectar out of
flowers, parents investing in their offspring, bacteria secreting products that help
them grow in the human lung and many other problems. This gradual reductionist
progression from broad description to detailed quantitative analysis and simple
generalizations is one of the major themes of development of the natural history
lineage.
The field of behavioural ecology has flourished over the last 20 years, thanks to a
combination of individual ingenuity and improved methods. This has allowed long
standing questions to be resolved (e.g. can the handicap principle work?), led to the
realization that some issues are far more important or complicated than was previously
assumed (e.g. sexual conflict) and, in some cases, an overturning of conventional
wisdom (e.g. the importance of haplodiploidy or reciprocity for the evolution of
cooperation). However, in addition to this work on classical areas, behavioural ecology
has also grown in novel and often unexpected directions. Examples include:
(1)
Parasitology.
The problem of how to exploit a limited resource (Chapter 5), and
how this can be influenced by the relatedness between competitors (Chapter 11)
applies to how parasites should exploit their hosts, and hence can help explain
variation in the damage that parasites do to their hosts (Herre, 1993; Frank, 1996;
Read
et al
. 2002; Boots & Mealor, 2007).
(2)
Medicine.
Conflict between parents can lead to selection for genomic imprinting
(Chapter 8), which can explain complications during pregnancy (Moore & Haig,
1991) and disorders such as autism (Badcock & Crespi, 2006) or Prader-Willi
syndrome (Úbeda, 2008).
(3)
Conservation.
Supplementary feeding can be detrimental to the growth of
endangered populations if it increases female condition and makes them change
their pattern of sex allocation (Fig. 15.5). Understanding mutualistic cooperation
between species has been central to the conservation of a
Maculinea
butterfly
(Thomas
et al
., 2009).
(4)
Agriculture.
Plants use sanctions to enforce the cooperative supply of nitrogen
from bacteria in their roots (Fig. 12.10). The use of artificial nitrogen fertilizers
reduces the need for sanctions, and so the domestication of plants can lead
to plants that are less good at getting nutrients via symbionts (Kiers
et al
.,
2007).
(5)
Microbiology.
The growth of pathogenic bacteria appears to rely on the production
of cooperative public goods (Fig. 11.7). Consequently, the social dynamics of such
traits can both explain clinical patterns (Kohler
et al
., 2009) and be exploited in
intervention strategies (Brown
et al
., 2009).
(6)
Social and human sciences.
Although the application of ESS thinking applied to
humans has had a turbulent history, there is currently a surge of interest in almost
all areas of the social and human sciences, including economics, anthropology,
