Study of the ecological and evolutionary consequences of animal behaviour.
The number or rate of social or ecological encounters. It differs from the fraction of a particular strategy in a population and from the probability of meeting the same partner again.
A social interaction in which a participant provides a benefit to another; classifications distinguish immediate actor benefits from evolutionary altruism. Group benefit alone does not explain persistence of an individually costly contribution.
A resource or service whose effects can benefit others as well as its producer. The spatial scale of benefits, production cost and competitive setting determine exploitation incentives.
Discrimination among potential or previous partners. Repeat interactions support partner-specific responses only if the relevant information can be retained or reliably associated with a location.
Information about an individual’s past behaviour that can alter its later interactions, including interactions with different partners. Reputation-based explanations require a mechanism for acquiring and using that information.
A mechanism in which helping a persistent partner improves the actor’s later direct returns through that partner’s survival or productivity, without requiring an explicit repayment rule.
Conditional cooperation based on previous interaction with the same partner. Repeated-game support for cooperation depends on encounter continuation, observation and the competing strategies.
Selection of interaction partners in a way that can favour useful contributions through access to future benefits. Its effects depend on available alternatives, information and switching costs.
An interaction in which access to partners and exchange alternatives change the terms of cooperation. Encounter rate and partner availability can have effects different from relationship persistence.
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