"Different fitness interpretations for the same evolutionary model: on Hamilton’s rule, inclusive fitness theory and adaptive dynamics and the connections between them"Jansen, VincentThe interactions between individuals and their environments are fundamental in describing selection and evolution. But what constitutes an environment differs between different theoretical approaches. In inclusive fitness theory interactions are often phrased in terms of social environments, like a groups that individuals belong to, or the neighbours on a network that they interact with. Adaptive dynamics theory frequently uses the notion of environmental feedbacks, which quantifies how individuals affect the physical and biological environment, which in turn cause selection for certain traits. Here I will show that when these different approaches are applied to the same model, they can lead to seemingly different outcomes. Even if the results are equivalent in terms the evolutionary outcome, the interpretation of fitness differs depending on how one defines an individual and what one chooses to see as its environment. For a given model there can be a multitude of possible interpretations for the results which can all be valid simultaneously. The classification of an interaction based on such interpretations, is therefore to a degree arbitrary. To arrive at one result using a specific interpretation does not mean other intepretations are wrong, although in interpreting empirical observations some interpretations can be more useful than others. |
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