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The Interface Between Evolutionary Biology and Game Theory

[RG #106] The Interface Between Evolutionary Biology and Game Theory

September 1, 2006 - August 31, 2007

Organizers:

Sergiu Hart (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Avi Shmida (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Our research group will focus on addressing fundamental questions in ecology and evolutionary biology, using the modeling tools of game theory. In particular, the group will examine the topics of the evolution of sexual reproduction, the evolution of communication and signaling, and evolutionary dynamics.

The phenomenon of "warning colours" in poisonous insects, reptiles, and plants is one of the examples that can be used to demonstrate how biology and game theory can interact. Poisonous animals and plants are well known for their conspicuous contrasting colours. This is interpreted as the signal that indicates "I am poisonous, don't eat me". The question is, can we trust this signal? Biologists have studied this topic for decades, attempting to explain why "cheaters" -- non-poisonous animals with conspicuous colours -- are rare. This question will be tackled from a different standpoint, where perhaps the conspicuous animal does not warn its predator, but rather signals it to "come and inspect me". Other investigations will deal with mechanisms that can explain patterns of morphology, systematical and also behavioural, by using game-theoretic models.

 

2006-2007 Research Groups

Members

men

Elchanan Ben-Porath

FELLOW
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Elchanan is a professor at the Center for the Study of Rationality and the Department of Economics at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research interests are economic theory, especially game theory and information economics, and distributive justice.

men

Yossi Feinberg

FELLOW
Stanford University

Yossi is a professor in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. His research interest is game theory.

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Dean Foster

FELLOW
University of Pennsylvania

Dean is a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, USA. His research interests are machine learning, game theory and variable selection.

men

Sergiu Hart

FELLOW
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Sergiu is a professor at the Center for the Study of Rationality, the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Economics at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research interests are game theory, economic theory, and rationality.

men

Gadi Katzir

FELLOW
University of Haifa

Gadi is a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Haifa at Oranim. His research interests are: animal behaviour/ethology; sensory-ecology and neuroethology, mainly problems of vision and visually guided behaviour patterns.

men

Michael Lachmann

FELLOW
Max Planck Institute

Michael is a professor in the Department of Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. His research interests are: evolution and information, multicellularity, and origin of life.

men

Avi Shmida

FELLOW
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Avi is a professor in the Department of Evolution, Systematics, and Ecology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research interests are: evolutionary ecology: pollination; diversity and conservation; and sex types in plants "Red" and endangered species.

men

Frank Thuijsman

FELLOW
Maastricht University

Frank is a professor in the Institute of Mathematics at Maastricht University. His research interests are stochastic games and applications of game theory in biology.