Darwin Plays Game Theory—and Wins

Darwin Plays Game Theory—and Wins
A computer simulation predicts that ravens should have evolved a behavior called "gang foraging," which is then observed in real ravens.

by Andrew Grant
From the June 2009 issue, published online May 22, 2009

Yahoo! BuzzShareThisShareThis

Image: iStockphoto
Game theory, the branch of mathematics best known for exploring economics, has for the first time successfully predicted animal behavior in nature. It forecast a foraging strategy for ravens that was later observed in the wild.

Game theory analyzes how people (or animals) act in situations where an individual’s success depends on both his own decisions and those of others. In 2002 Sasha Dall, a mathematical ecologist at the University of Exeter in England, used a game theory model to explain why young ravens scout for carrion alone but then recruit other birds to join the feast. This apparently altruistic behavior is evolutionarily sensible, he found, because it helps the scout fight off territorial adults and secure dominance over recruits.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

advertisement | article continues below
MOST READ - ADVERTISEMENT -
News From The Worlds Of History, Gemology,
And Science.
1. World's most famous diamond found inside toaster
2. Official Watch of Rock and Roll.
3. Cache Of Giant Raw Diamonds Found
4. 1930's Antique Speedometer Found On A Wrist
5. $200 Reward Offered for Giant Pear
6. Over 100,000 sets of pearls given away
7. U.S. Clock Loses 1 Second in 20 Million Years
8. Chemist shocks Diamond Trade
9. The curse of the perfect gift

www.stauer.com





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dall’s model predicted another successful strategy, one that had never been observed in ravens: gang foraging, in which a large group of birds scavenge together. Within a year, behavioral ecologist Jonathan Wright of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology discovered this very behavior in the field. He tracked ravens in North Wales by implanting carcasses with different-colored beads that the birds ingested and later coughed up. Analysis of the beads indicated that ravens in some roosts were searching, eating, and benefiting together, just as Dall anticipated. Wright and Dall merged their mathematical and field-based work in a paper published in February.

Charles Darwin noticed that animal teamwork could make evolutionary sense for groups, but Wright’s research shows that joint efforts can pay off even in situations that emphasize the role of individual success. “Ravens are smart and selfish,” Wright says, “but there’s a lot more stability to cooperation.”

Related Articles
#87: Mockingbirds Know Who You Are... And They Hold a Grudge
The birds learned to identify an aggressive researcher and ignore the others—and eventually they dive-bombed the malefactor. December 19, 2009

Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Connect
The most profound bonds between people begin in our bodies with imitation and synchronized movements. November 19, 2009

The Brain: Humanity's Other Basic Instinct: Math
New research suggests that math has evolved its way right into our neurons—and monkeys', too. November 17, 2009

The Pentagon’s Beetle Borgs
Researchers create what may be the perfect scout: a bug controlled remotely through a chip implanted in its optic lobes and flight muscles. April 30, 2009

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Time
The beginning, the end, and the funny habits of our favorite ticking force. March 12, 2009
Latest News Blogs Most Popular
The Bizarre and Brilliant World of Knitted Science
How Autistic Artists See the World
Eye Color Explained
Each Grain of Sand a Tiny Work of Art
The Brain: What Is the Speed of Thought?
#91: The Strange Ancient Process That Made Earth's Oxygen
#93: Re-Analyzing One of the Greatest Brains in History
The Brain: Humanity's Other Basic Instinct: Math
#92: Nowhere to Hide From the Buzz of Civilization
#95: Hidden Caribou-Hunting Civilization Found Under Lake Huron
Video for Owning the Weather Panel in Copenhagen
Easy-reading chiropractic libel for young readers
Create your own tour of the Universe!
Geek culture
Republicans Thrash Climate Scientists in the Court of Public Opinion
Terroreidolia
New Especially Bad Heroin Can Give You an Overdose—or Anthrax
From Tibet to Infinity and back again
Ocean Volcano Eruption!!
Furious Fanboys Plan “Operation Stranglehold” to Take Down AT&T
Lab-Created Platelets Slow Bleeding in Rodents
Physicists Find Hints of Dark Matter But No Clear Discovery
The Mutations That Kill: 1st Cancer Genomes Sequenced
Copenhagen Roundup: Protests, Walkouts, and the Money Wars
A Hack of the Drones: Insurgents Spy on Spy Planes With $26 Software
Study: Like Earthquakes & Financial Markets, Terrorist Attacks Follow Laws ...
New Super-Earth: Hot, Watery, and Nearby
Injured Vet Receives Transplanted Pancreas Grown From a Few Cells
Scientist Smackdown: Are Unnecessary CT Scans Killing People?
Gravity Satellites Show a Huge Groundwater Loss in California



Name

Address

Address

City State Zip Code

Email Address


(U.S. orders only) DISCOVER is published monthly except two double issues which count as two each. Savings based on a $29.95 annual subscription rate.